Black Innocence
by StarryNight359
Summary: An Yu leads a fairly boring life until she moves and starts playing Second Life. As Black Lily, her world is turned upside down by the people she meets, falling for her best friend and discovering family secrets. But when real life takes a turn for the worst, these secrets may be the only thing that can save her. Wicked/AnYu/BlackLily Centred around Black Lily, later multiple POV.
1. A Second Life

**A/N:** So this is a 1/2 Prince fanfic I've been wanting to post for a while. It's not done yet but I'll upload what I've got so far - that's about 50% of the story I reckon. So I'll do that now otherwise I'll forget for a few months again like when I started it lol.

Enjoy and please R&R ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own 1/2 Prince or any of its characters. Though I wish I did T.T The manga's awesome and I hope they'll do an anime of it at some point XD

* * *

**2100 A.D.**

"Don't forget about me, okay?" I whispered, close to tears as I looked from one of my two best friends - only friends - to the other. They were more like brothers to me, really.

Ling Bin stepped forward an wrapped me into a tight hug and, after a slight hesitation, his younger brother Ming Bin followed. I couldn't help but give a watery smile at his irritated expression; at sixteen and four years younger than me, he was beginning to turn into the 'typical teenage rebel' as Ling Bin often called him affectionately.

"Of course not. How could I? You're my best friend." he murmured soothingly, his hand making circular motions on my back. Then both him and Ming Bin pulled back, Ling Bin poking my mouth corners in an attempt to make me smile. It worked like always until I remembered that it would be the last time for a long while.

That made me cry even harder and I hid my face in my hands to hide my tears. Uncharacteristically gentle hands pried mine off and wiped away my tears.

"Stop crying; did your pet die or something?" Ming Bin said gruffly, pulling a tissue out from his jacket and pushing it at me. I accepted it gratefully and gave a slight hiccup. He looked at me in alarm and his eyes widened in worry, making me smile at his rare display of emotion.

I laughed when he replaced it with his customary scowl and his older brother elbowed him teasingly.

"It's okay to show you care, you know." he informed him, dodging Ming Bin's shoulder punch. I laughed once again and Ling Bin smiled at me softly, his dark eyes warm. "We'll see each other again, don't worry."

"How do you know that? Who knows what's going to happen between now and then?"

"Well, there's other ways to stay in contact than visiting." he said mysteriously and I stared at him questioningly.

"Like emails? I meant face-to-face contact."

He shook his head and Ming Bin rolled his eyes as his grin got brighter. Nevertheless, he obeyed his older brother when he made a sign at him to get something from the car. He came back with a wrapped package which he shoved at Ling Bin.

"This will help." Ling Bin said, holding it out to me. I took it from him cautiously, looking from it to him in surprise.

"For me? Why?"

"It's for your birthday, stupid!" Ming Bin said impatiently with a nearly imperceptible soft edge to it. Ling Bin gave him an annoyed look.

"You couldn't have been nicer about it?"

I smiled when they continued bantering; it really was a show of affection for another in their case. Experimentally shaking the package, I was stopped by the younger of the pair.

"Don't do that!"

"Is it fragile?" I asked, making a move to tear the paper off. Ling Bin looked at me warningly, flicking his eyes over at my house. We all turned to see my grandpa's stern silhouette standing at a window in the second story.

"You should probably hide it from your grandfather. I don't think he'd approve of you using it." he explained. I nodded and tucked it underneath my arm before looking up at the two once again.

"I'll really miss you." I told them, a lump in my throat forming. Ling Bin blinked a little rapidly before giving me a sad smile and another brief hug.

"I'll miss you too."

"Me too." Ming Bin mumbled, his head lowered. Ling Bin and I chuckled when we saw the tips of his ears turn pink underneath his white-blond hair. He snapped his head back up and glared at us before stalking toward the car. He threw himself inside with a huff before slamming the door shut to wait for his brother.

"Just make sure to open your present in secret and keep it that way." Ling Bin reminded me once more before getting it into the car himself. I was shocked out of my frozen state when he started the engine and quickly ran toward him where I rapped my knuckles on the window. He scrolled down and looked at me quizzically.

"Why do I need to keep it a secret?" I asked, a little sad that those were the last words he had said to me. That mischievous smile stole back onto his face and I narrowed my eyes the tiniest bit; he usually only looked like that if he had something in mind that would really annoy Grandpa. I glanced at Ming Bin in the passenger seat and he only blinked at me innocently.

They were definitely up to something.

"Because that's how we'll keep in contact."

* * *

After dinner I walked up to my room, disappointment welling up and then angry at myself for feeling that way. Grandpa had ignored all other nineteen birthdays I had had; why would this one have been any different?

Despite me reminding myself of that fact every year I always ended up with that twinge of sadness in the pit of my stomach. And this year had been even worse than usual since I hadn't even been able to spend it with my friends.

Up in my room, I pushed the heavy curtains aside to look out my window. The moon shone on the silhouette of the neighbouring house Ling Bin, his brother and mother had moved into eight years ago; it had always looked rather friendly and inviting for such a huge house. But without any people in it, it just seemed empty and imposing as the one I lived in.

I sighed as I remembered the day they moved in; their father had moved here due to work and Ming Bin had been hiding and crying up in the tree that was planted right between their and our garden. I had met him up there because I had been attempting to escape another of the 'lady lessons' my grandfather had forced me to take. Back then, Ming Bin had been quite a sweet eight year old and had readily struck up a friendship with me after I gave him one of the afternoon treats I had been saving for later. It took some persuading though; apparently he still believed in cooties and thought they were worse the older we were.

I laughed as I remembered telling him that no such things as cooties existed and he had pointed at my chest demanding what that was then. I got embarrassed as any twelve year old would have and shut him up by stuffing the sweet in his mouth. He immediately forgot about the whole cooties thing and we started talking. That's how Ling Bin and my maid at the time had found us - chatting in the tree and sharing sweets. I was sad when Ming Bin left; I had never been allowed the house or make friends. I had been home schooled and the only people who I had been friendly with had left. Ming Bin had promised to come back and he did, almost every day, with Ling Bin in tow. I didn't really talk much with his older brother in the beginning; he always watched us from afar and seemed rather aloof. At some point though, he began to warm up to me and the three of us became best friends. I often liked to think of them as my brothers since I didn't have anyone else around my age that I was close to.

There wasn't much grandfather could do about it - they were our neighbours and offending them by forbidding our friendship would have damaged grandfather's reputation since their father was quite a well known doctor.

And then, eight years later, Mr Zhuo's wife had died. Of course the whole family was distraught and it seemed the perfect time for their father to accept the transfer back to their home city he had been offered at work. He had left early to find a new apartment and a school for Ming Bin while Ling Bin applied and got accepted by X University. So they had left, leaving me with their last birthday present. I closed the curtains as I remembered the package and rushed to my bedside to retrieve it from underneath the mattress. It wasn't the best hiding place for it but I would find a new one. After making sure that my door was firmly closed, I ripped the paper off to see what was inside.

It looked like a computer game, a new one judging by its image. _Second Life_, the cover proclaimed in a rather plain script in white on a black background. Still, exactly that was what gave it a sharp edge and made me intrigued as to what it was about. I opened the thick cover and discovered a pair of strange-looking goggles inside. Setting them aside for now, I slid the instruction manual from underneath and flicked through it. I didn't understand much since I had never played a game like this in my life, but the concept of quite literally living adventures in another place other than the real world was very interesting.

I frowned as I remembered how Ling Bin had told me that this was how we would keep in contact; what did he mean? My brooding gaze fell onto the discarded wrapping paper on the floor from which a brightly coloured card poked out.

I picked it up and opened it.

_Happy Birthday, An Yu!_

_This is Second Life, you've probably never heard of it before since you don't play stuff like this much. But it's getting pretty popular in the whole world, so I thought you might like to give it a try since not only gamers like it._

_Besides that, I'll explain what I meant by using this to keep in contact. I know that your Grandpa controls all your emails and since he doesn't like me very much he would probably try to stop us from sending those. Second Life basically allows you to actually be in the game - meaning that we actually could talk and see each other etc if we both play. The only catch is that you have to keep it from your Grandpa since he would most likely just take it away from you._

_I hope I'll see you in game - can't wait! Ming Bin feels the same even though he's trying to get me to erase that right now._

I laughed at that; the tell-tale scribbles around the last sentence were very obvious.

_From Ling Bin & Ming Bin_

_PS: My birth continent is Central and my In Game name is Wicked - just ask one of the NPCs how to use the chat._

Hmm. Even with reading the manual and the card I was still a little confused. I quickly scanned the manual again before popping the _Second Life _disc into a slot in the side of the gaming goggles. I then gathered the card, empty gaming cover and wrapping paper to hide them underneath my mattress again before getting ready for bed. I really was intrigued as to how playing the game while sleeping would work.

I slipped underneath my bedcovers, put on my gaming goggles and pushed a button on the side. Then I closed my eyes and waited in anticipation for what would happen next.

* * *

"**Wicked?"** I hesitantly called once the NPC who helped create my character had sent me into the game - the Central continent to be exact.

"**Hello?"** his voice answered a little warily. I frowned at his tone. He couldn't possibly not recognise me.

"**It's me."**

"**An Yu? Great! Listen, I'm in Sun City right now. Do you want to meet up?"**

"**Sure. I'm here right now, actually."**

"**Oh, good. Do you know exactly where you are?"**

"**Uh..."** I glanced at my surroundings and then up at the building right beside me. **"I'm standing beside this huge arena."**

"**Okay, I know where that is. We'll be right there." **Wicked promised and exited the chat before I could ask who he meant by 'we'.

That question was answered soon enough when he, Ming Bin and two other people I didn't know emerged from a side alley.

"Hi. I didn't know you would already be playing so soon." Wicked greeted me with a side hug and a warm smile. I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You look so different from normal." I remarked as I took in his appearance. Overall, he still looked much the same as in real life but now his skin was rather dark, his hair was a luminous silver-white colour instead of dirty blond. It was long and bound in a high ponytail and his eyes were emerald green.

Wicked shrugged in a helpless gesture.

"Since this game allows you to look any way you want, I might as well use it."

"Oh." I said stupidly. Of course I should have thought about that. I hadn't changed anything about my appearance except my eye colour.

"Who's the cutie?" one of the unknown people piped up from behind Wicked. I blinked at him confusedly when he winked. I turned my head to look behind me but there was no one there. Then I heard laughter from in front of me - coming from the one who had winked. Ming Bin was scowling at his back while the other unknown person was still as expressionless as before. I noted that Ming Bin's eyes were the same shade as Wicked's.

"Come on, Wicked. Introduce us." the one who laughed said invitingly, his ice blue eyes glued to my face. Wicked rolled his eyes and elbowed the other one in the side when he held out a hand for me to shake.

"None of that, Playboy. She's my best friend." he said in a warning tone. The grin didn't drop off Playboy's face; it may even have gotten a little wider.

"Best friend, huh?"

"Keep you hands off of her. She's like our sister." Ming Bin hissed, grabbing the taller man by the collar. Playboy only chuckled lightly and ran his hand through his shoulder length white hair.

"I'll do whatever she wants me to do." he said suggestively, glancing at me from the corner of his eyes. I blushed and looked downward until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"How about I introduce you to someone who has manners?" Wicked said, looking at Playboy sharply who was studying a poster on the side of the building. I nodded and he gestured at the other two with us.

"You obviously already know Ming Bin, but his In Game name is Ming Huang and he's a human wizard. We all call him Miwa though."

I grinned as Miwa stuck out his tongue and glared at his brother at the sound of that name. Ignoring his childish antics, Wicked gestured at the one who had stayed silent.

"That's Marksman. He's an elven archer."

I smiled at him tentatively when he nodded at me in acknowledgement.

"And, well, Playboy you know already. He's a human thief."

Suddenly I felt an arm around me shoulder and flinched as I stared right into Playboy's grinning face.

"And just so you know - I don't only steal materialistic valuables."

"Right." Wicked cut in, removing his arm from my shoulder. I gave him a grateful look and a smile which he returned warmly. Playboy pouted and went back to Marksman who inched away a little from him.

"Just make sure you stay away from him."

"Sure." I replied and then looked up at Wicked. "So, what class are you and so on?"

"I'm a dark elf warrior." he answered willingly before looking me up and down. I felt heat rise to my cheeks at his close scrutiny and held my breath. "I haven't seen anyone like you before. What are you?"

Reprimanding myself for the twinge of disappointment in the pit of my stomach - what was that anyway? - I noticed that the other three were looking at me for an answer as well. I fiddled with my staff nervously and smiled at them.

"I'm a celestial priest. Oh, and my In Game name is Black Lily."

* * *

Haha, so yeah, An Yu's not an OC. Sort of. And I've posted the link of how I imagine she would look like, it's on my profile.

Don't forget to review! ^^


	2. Introducing the Cast

Here's chapter 2, please njoy and review! :)

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

* * *

I spent the next few weeks getting to know the rest of the team, which Wicked told me later was called Dark Phantom, and training. By training they meant killing strange-Iooking things called monsters which left 'loot' behind once they were dead. didn't really know for what but Wicked and all the others insisted that it was good for us. It wasn't like I did any of the fighting anyway; becoming a priest had been for the reason that I disliked hurting people. Even if they weren't real.

And since I was a newbie in more ways than one, who was I to argue?

They had devised a system on how to train the best - since if they stayed in one area for too long the monsters would all be gone, they rotated which allowed them enough time to 'spawn'.

Today Wicked announced that we would be training on Broken Mountain which was right next to Rampaging Dragon Valley. We started toward our destination as soon as everyone was online - we had to go through the Valley to get to the Mountain.

As always, Miwa took the lead. I had the feeling that he wanted to impress Wicked with his skills who didn't seem to notice at all. Instead he just indulged in everything Miwa wanted which was just as well - his fits weren't a pretty sight.

Wicked, Playboy and I were right behind him while Marksman hung back, also as always. I still kept closer to Wicked's side though. Even after getting to know Playboy who was actually quite decent underneath his flirty exterior, I still felt most comfortable next to Wicked.

We were just crossing a patch of rocky terrain when we heard a lot of battle noise coming up in front of us. There was a lot of very loud roaring - from dragons as I had learnt to recognise - and clanging of weapons as well as a great amount of shouting.

"Wow. That sounds like there are a lot of dragons." Playboy commented, impressed when we saw a couple of them fly off into the sky but the noises continued.

"At least twenty of them." Marksman added, listening intently. Wicked drew his eyebrows together in thought.

"Really? That's interesting. We should find out how whoever it is managed to lure so many."

"Let's go, then!" Miwa shouted, storming ahead. We all looked at each other in alarm before following him hastily. For some reason he always charged ahead into a situation without checking first. Wicked believed it was part of his rebellious stage - I believed that it was just that he wanted to be equal to his brother in any way possible.

When we caught up to him, Miwa was waiting for us with a glint in his eye.

"What took you so long?" he hissed and Wicked rolled his eyes at his display.

"If you wouldn't have run off without any warning…"

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go look." he interrupted impatiently and whipped back to the front, leading us closer to the source of the noise. Wicked shrugged in apology to Playboy's exasperated glare and we continued onward; the noise in the meantime had turned into angry shouting and exclamations of pain.

We passed through a cliff and were greeted with a sight matching the sounds. A wolf beastman, a female elf, a celestial little girl and a human were all standing around and watching a white-haired elf beat up a purple-haired devil much taller than himself.

We all stood there, dumbfounded, until Miwa found his voice.

"Hey! You Guys!"

The fighting pair halted and looked at us the same way we had before. The white-haired elf gave us a scrutinising glare without letting go of the poor devil's throat. Then he did the most astonishing thing - throwing the devil aside, he ripped off a piece of grass, stuck it in his mouth and struck a gangster-like pose. Unfortunately it looked completely misplaced; his features were anything but gangster-ish.

"Whaddya wan' wi' us, girly?"

Miwa stiffened at the words directed at him.

I blinked and then glanced over at the others who nodded in agreement. We slowly backed away, waiting for the explosion to happen.

"What did you…just say?" Miwa asked, his voice eerily calm. The elf's face froze and he mirrored our actions. I couldn't blame him; Miwa's angry/throwing a fit face was frightening, even more so if he had magic powers like here.

The elf stammered and stumbled over his next words, attempting to get him to calm down. Unfortunately, he only made it worse by keep calling Miwa a girl in some form or another.

As predicted, the explosion didn't wait for long and soon the poor elf was writhing on the ground in pain. His team was there to defend him in an instant and the biggest surprise of all was the devil. He strode up to Miwa after making sure the elf was alright - and actually punched him to the ground. Miwa cried out as his side made contact with the hard ground and rolled onto his stomach.

I let out an involuntary gasp - but not at Miwa, I'm ashamed to admit. It was the devil's eyes, eyes of such a rare colour I only knew one other person beside myself who had them -

I felt Wicked tense up beside me and laid a restraining hand on his arm. At his annoyed look I shot him warning glance.

"Leave him be. He doesn't want or need rescuing."

He clenched his jaw but didn't move. The devil went up to Miwa once again and stood one foot on his back, causing him to cry out again.

Wicked shook off my hand in one motion and strode up to the devil, his stance calm but radiating anger. Unsheathing his sword, he held it right up to his throat as I watched helplessly along with Marksman and Playboy.

"Release Ming Huang." he commanded, his voice calm but carrying a dangerous edge.

The devil only glared right back at him, not budging in the slightest. It was then that the white-haired elf finally spoke again, pointing an accusing finger at Miwa trapped underneath the devil's foot.

"You b***d…why'd you kick me? What did I say wrong?" he shouted, gaining volume as he stood up unsteadily, the rest of his team mates gathered around him and glaring daggers at us. Miwa tried to squirm out from underneath the devil's foot but didn't succeed. He gave up but still looked livid.

"You damn sissy can't even tell a guy and a girl apart! I'm a guy!" Miwa yelled, his face turning redder by the second. All of the other group dropped their jaws simultaneously, their eyes widening in shock and surprise.

I could sort of understand why they were surprised. If you didn't know Miwa personally you would think that he actually was a girl - at first glance. But his personality would soon convince you otherwise; besides, I was convinced he would grow into his looks eventually.

Another scuffle with the devil ensued into which Wicked interfered immediately by forcing him back with a swift strike of his sword - effectively throwing him off Miwa and toward the rest of his group. They all gathered around him and Miwa finally got off the ground. I rushed forward, grabbing him by the arm.

"Come on, let's leave." I urged him but he threw my arm off. I stumbled back and he straightened up, baring his teeth at them. The rest of us stiffened up behind him and automatically assumed our fighting stances. That just shows how often this happens.

Miwa glared at them as they scattered a little to reveal that the devil was whole again.

"I'll send you all to hell!" Miwa cried, raising his staff toward the heavens.

And with that, 'hell' broke loose.

* * *

My alarm clock sounded and I slipped the goggles off with an impatient sigh.

It had started at just the right time; after all of us except Wicked had died in that Rampaging Dragon Valley incident, we had held a 'meeting' in one of Sun City's taverns where Miwa had sworn revenge on Odd Squad as they were apparently called. Even the usually silent and indifferent Marksman had agreed while Playboy, being who he is, only had thoughts for Odd Squad's thief Lolidragon. Wicked's only comment was that he had sent Odd Squad a challenge letter which would take place in the Adventurer's Tournament. Before anyone could ask my opinion, my alarm had rung and I had logged off.

I carefully hid my gaming goggles and then got ready for my day. It wasn't like I needed to go anywhere - just like my school education grandfather insisted that I study my university courses at home - but I had a strict schedule to follow.

Afterward I came down for breakfast, preparing myself for another boring, routine day of personal tutors droning on and more 'lady lessons' - yes, they were still effective much to my dismay. The subjects my grandfather had chosen for me didn't help make my day more interesting; they were as boring as my hired tutors. I had often wondered how I had managed to not fall asleep while they taught me things.

At the end of the day, I was bored out of my mind as usual. Even though I wasn't feeling particularly hungry, I went into the dining hall for dinner anyway.

I was surprised to see my grandfather seated at the table when I entered the dining hall. I immediately straightened my back, folded my hands and walked toward the table as gracefully as I could manage.

"Good morning, grandfather." I greeted him pleasantly, smiling at the butler in thanks when he pulled out a chair for me. I glanced at my grandfather at his silence but didn't expect him to answer. He never did.

"I do not wish for you to be on such terms with lowly servants." his voice sounded calmly from behind the newspaper. I suppressed a flinch and threw an apologetic look over at the maids and the butler who remained stoic.

"Yes, grandfather." I replied obediently as I folded a salad leaf and placed it in my mouth delicately. I was beginning to wonder why he was sitting here; it was very rare that he was even in the same room with me, apart from his office. The last time had been when I was fourteen when he told me I had a fiancée.

"I'm sure you are wondering why I am wasting my time with you." grandfather remarked casually, laying aside his newspaper and taking a sip of his red wine as he scrutinised me intently through his delicate gold frame glasses.

I lowered my head slightly at the comment as I swallowed, trying to hide the hurt in my eyes. I really should have gotten used to this by now. Thankfully, I wasn't expected to answer.

"An Yu, I am sending you to live with your father for a while."

I nearly choked on my water. Attempting to keep my eyes dry, I stared at him.

"Why?"

He raised his thick, white eyebrows at my question and I quickly turned my attention back to my half eaten dinner. I was expecting him to ignore me like always but to my surprise, he didn't.

"I believe it would be a good experience for you to meet new people. You have been isolated for so long, you are lacking any social skills. You will need those in the future, even if you do not take over the family business. You will need to stand by your husband's side and support him. " he informed me and it was all I could do to not forget chewing before I swallowed hastily.

"How does living with father help me do that?"

I hadn't seen my father for years; since I was eight to be exact.

This time grandfather did glower at me and I froze in fright.

"I believe you know the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'? You should ponder over its meaning while you pack." he said chillingly as he finished his red wine and grabbed his newspaper before walking toward the exit. He stopped in front of my maid who straightened her already straight back even more. "Help An Yu pack for her eight o'clock flight to T City."

My eyes widened the slightest bit when I heard that. Lost in thought, I dimly heard him order the chauffeur to drive me before he finally left. I finished the rest of my dinner silently, forcing myself to swallow each remaining bite. I was usually the hungriest in the morning and then wouldn't eat much, if at all, for the rest of the day but grandfather's sudden news had ruined what little appetite I did have.

I pondered over his words as I absentmindedly packed my things with my maid. Not knowing how long I would stay was a problem so I asked her to get my flight tickets from the chauffeur.

My stomach dropped when I saw it was a single flight; was he so keen to get rid of me? I fought back my tears at that thought. He would just give me to the man who had abandoned us over a decade ago without so much as a goodbye or any contact at all. How did I even know that he knew I was coming to live with him?

I distracted myself from that by continuing to throw clothes into my suitcase until none would fit anymore. The maid left after I told her that I wanted some time to myself before I would leave. After making sure that the door was firmly closed, I hid my _Second Life _equipment underneath all my neatly folded clothes and the gaming goggles deep in my carry-on bag beneath all my lecturing notes. The flight to T City was ten hours long and I would rather see my In Game friends than watching TV or studying.

All too soon, my maid and chauffeur helped me carry my luggage into the car. I halted before getting in and asked the butler at the door about my grandfather; I wanted to say goodbye to him before leaving indefinitely.

"I am very sorry, Miss An Yu, but he has gone to an important business meeting."

"Of course." I answered after I managed to choke down the lump in my throat. That seemed exactly like something he would do. "Well, then. I do hope we will see each other again."

The butler nodded and even allowed himself a small smile at my wobbly one. My smile then broadened, becoming genuine. That was one of the first times I had actually seen any of the staff look at me with anything but a blank expression.

"Goodbye." I said warmly and he nodded. I attempted to get the same reaction out of my maid but failed. Then I finally got in the car, already anxious about what would await me in T City.

* * *

"A new member?"

I looked over the table at Wicked, Playboy, Marksman and Miwa in surprise. Wicked nodded.

"Yes. I ran into a human warrior earlier and he told me how unsatisfied he was with his current team. And since we still need one more member to enter the Adventurer's Tournament I offered him to join us."

I nodded at his lengthy explanation and then looked around the tavern.

"Where is he?"

"Where is who?" an unfamiliar, deep voice asked from behind me. Startled, I whirled around and came face to face with a tall, amused looking man. He was wearing Han-style clothing with a fan in one hand and his long brown hair bound in a high ponytail. His dark brown eyes twinkled from behind the fan mischievously as he looked me up and down. Immediately wary of him, I moved a step backwards.

"Is this your priest you told me about?" he asked, glancing around me at Wicked.

"Yes." Wicked answered, getting up and standing beside me; I instantly felt safer. "This is Black Lily, a celestial priest. Black Lily, this is Feng Wu Qing."

"What pretty wings you have." Feng Wu Qing murmured, leaning in close as he lightly touched one of the dainty white wings that grew out of each side of my forehead. I gulped, my wary feelings from before resurfacing.

"Thank you." I said evenly, taking another step backward. I couldn't see his mouth but from his eyes I was pretty sure that he was grinning.

"You get easily flustered, don't you?"

"You better hear this from me, Wu Qing. Wicked and Miwa are pretty protective of Black Lily." Playboy warned the warrior while slurping from his mug. Miwa growled at him and Wicked only shook his head in exasperation. Marksman was silent as usual.

"That's because you needed a warning, Playboy." Wicked reminded him before turning back to us with a serious expression. "Well, then. Let's sign up and train for the Adventurer's Tournament one last time."

* * *

Chapter 3 up next!


	3. More than Friendship?

Disclaimer: see first chapter

I present to you chapter 3! XD

* * *

The plane gave a quiet dinging noise and I slipped off the goggles, feeling even more tired than I had before. When Wicked said 'training', he meant it. Which in turn meant that all of the 'active' members of Dark Phantom had gotten a lot of injuries that I had had to heal. I had to have drunk so many Mana potions that I was pretty sure my blood was replaced by them by now. It didn't help that right after the intense training session, we went right ahead to fight in the adventurer's tournament. The last round for today had just finished when the captain of the airplane announced that the landing would commence soon.

I stashed my goggles back underneath my notes and straightened my seat as the airhostess came around to remind us to do so. One airplane landing, customs and a luggage pick up later, I was standing in the arrival hall and feeling a little lost. There were many people here but I still felt very alone. It was unfamiliar and this early in the morning it was cold, even inside. The sun hadn't even gone up yet since the plane had landed an hour early. Also, I had no money or mobile to call anyone.

I sat down in one of the chair benches provided, preparing to wait for a while when I heard my name being called out.

"Yes?" I stood up and turned to face an older copy of my chauffeur but with a friendly smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile back; if even father's staff was this welcoming, maybe he was different than I remembered too.

"Your father has sent me to retrieve you." he said politely as he took my luggage from. I let him have the suitcase but held on to my carry-on bag myself. I followed him out of the arrival hall silently. Normally I would tried to strike up a conversation but I was tired; also he didn't seem like someone who enjoyed talking. Not that I did but I liked it better than silence.

Still, that was what filled the car on the surprisingly short ride to my father's place, a beautiful cottage. Even though it wasn't as grand as grandfather's mansion, I liked it better. It gave off a more welcoming feeling opposed to the cold aura of grandfather's.

I was grateful that father didn't seem to have as much house staff as grandfather even though they a lot more open about their emotions, smiling as they brought me and my luggage into my room. They brought me a light breakfast when I asked for it and then left me to sleep. This time I didn't bother with the gaming goggles; I was too exhausted.

Hours later, or more precisely in the evening, I was brought downstairs into the cosy dining hall - it was much more compact and held in warmer colours than the one I knew. I froze in fright when I saw a man already sitting at the table waiting patiently.

"I'm so sorry, father. I was so tired from the flight that -" I blurted but stopped when he raised a hand.

"That is quite alright. I did not expect you to come down to dinner but I just wanted to make sure. That's why I sent the maid up to check on you." father said calmly, smiling. I stared at him, dumbfounded. I was used to much harsher treatment. Father cleared his throat as he noticed my intense scrutiny and gestured at the seat opposite him. Embarrassed to have let myself be so rude, I followed his gesture and sat down. As if on cue, the by standing maids began serving dinner. I smiled down at my green salad - a light dinner just the way I liked it. Glancing over at him, I noticed that he had the same even though he had added a small steak from another platter to it. I averted my eyes and began eating.

The dinner went very quietly; we barely talked and only gave one word answers. But I didn't blame him - he had been gone for most of my life and this was the first time we had seen each other in twelve years. I knew what was going on in his life as much as he did mine. After dinner was over, I resolved to ask him something though.

"What did grandfather suggest I do here?"

Father seemed to stiffen the slightest bit at hearing that but then smiled at me. I saw right through it; his smile was broad but his eyes were cold.

"I'm guessing he told you to develop your social skills. He would have suggested some society with strict rules but I convinced him that I should have a say in it since you would be living here with me. I heard that you're studying university courses right now?" he asked and I nodded. "You'll finish your courses at a university in the area. That way you will be with people your age and learn at the same time. You'll start in a month's time when the new semester begins."

I swallowed at the daunting task of, for the first time in my life, being around people all the time - people who were my age nevertheless.

"What university is this?"

"X University. I can assure you, it's one known for its successful students."

I had frozen once again as I heard 'X University' and then felt a slow smile spread on my face. Father returned it hesitantly when I gave him a genuine smile.

"Thank you very much. I will do the best I can."

The wary barrier in his sapphire blue eyes - the same as mine - softened a little as he heard my happiness.

"You're very welcome."

* * *

It was a few days before the tournament and after it had been announced that all teams in the final round would fight each other simultaneously due to so many teams participating, we had formed a coalition with Odd Squad. Currently, were training at the edge of one of _Second Life_'snumerous forests.

I paused and then dodged another attack from a monster. It turned to attack me once again and Wu Qing decapitated it for me. I smiled in thanks and ran for cover behind a tree where I hoped I would be relatively safe until someone needed healing again. Since Wicked having discovered that Feng Wu Qing was actually one of his friends in his home city - and him having told me and Miwa - I had tried to become good friends with him. Like Playboy, he was actually a pretty good guy if a little arrogant at times.

I watched enviously Ugly Wolf enviously as he fought off multiple attackers with his staff, wishing I could do that too. Unfortunately, my staff wasn't nearly as sturdy. I would really need to get a new one and maybe I could ask for lessons with him? If Yu Lian didn't mind, anyway. She could get pretty scary and since she was his wife…

I was woken from my musings as another monster appeared on my right. I whirled out of the way just when its weapon slammed into the tree trunk right where my head had been. Seeing that he was stuck, I escaped for a new hiding spot, casting healing spells as I sprinted past injured people. That went on for quite a while until finally all the monsters were lying still.

I drew a trembling hand over my sweaty forehead and re-did my ponytail. Even though I had used all my mana potion, I still felt weak. I was so distracted by trying not to fall over that I didn't notice Prince wasn't here until Odd Squad became restless.

Then the bard, Gui, completely freaked out, screaming out for Prince and generally behaving stranger than usual as he ran around. I tried to avoid him by hiding behind the rest of Dark Phantom who all watched incredulously. I couldn't care less about his antics; since seeing him for the first time in the Rampaging Dragon Valley I had the sneaking suspicion that I knew him. There was just something familiar about him but I wasn't ready yet to face him about it. And he was called 'Gui'… I was sure I had heard that name before.

Odd Squad suddenly perked up, shouting something about Prince holding on before dashing off in different directions. We all looked after them, at a loss at what to do until Wicked turned to us with a determined expression. I knew what he was going to say before he did.

"We'll help look too!"

I nodded and smiled; it was so like him to help even if he didn't like someone very much. Soon after, Wicked was the one who found Prince and he seemed to be in a strange mood. I noticed how his eyes would soften when he looked at the white-haired elf and then harden whenever Gui came near him - almost like he was…jealous.

Something clawed at the pit of my stomach at that thought and I shook my head to clear my thoughts. It was none of my business if Wicked had a thing for the elf - he was very popular. But somehow, Wicked's emotions seemed to run deeper than admiration for Prince's appearance. This gnawed at me and I got annoyed at myself for feeling that way.

Nevertheless I felt strangely relieved that we trained the last day before the tournament on our own and before we knew it, we were standing in the arena with them and everyone else.

Summed up, the competition was a long series of people fighting and killing other players. If you ignored all the horrible sounds of clashing weapons, pain exclamations and chanting of mages, it was actually quite pretty to watch - with every 'death' that occurred a white light beam that shot toward the sky would appear. It was almost blinding.

Eventually it really was only Odd Squad and us left. We were forced to seriously fight each other and I felt ill. Once again, I felt that my choice to be someone who didn't shed blood was good - even though I had taken a certain ungrounded dislike toward the elf, I still appreciated his and his team mates' kindness.

So I stayed back, dodging attacks as best as could. But I couldn't help but stand still and watch in worry when Wicked and Prince fought. They twisted and turned and it was nearly impossible to see who would win out of those two. Then, suddenly Prince was with his back to me with Wicked's sword protruding through it. As we had all come to know him, he was probably smiling or grinning at Wicked in congratulations for not holding back.

But Wicked's eyes held pure terror mixed with deep grief.

Again, I felt the strange clawing in the pit of my stomach but this time it was stronger and making me feel nauseous. Time slowed down in front of my eyes as my memories replayed that look like a broken record, making me oblivious to anything around me.

Then I heard Miwa and Yu Lian cry out simultaneously.

"Meteor Showers!"

"Heaven's Nine Fury!"

My head snapped upward along with everyone else at the sound of a huge explosion above. My eyes widened as I realised that it was the two spells that had collided and were now releasing their uncontrolled wrath on everyone below.

A thick cloud of swirling dust and a bright white light enveloping my body were the last things I sensed before I shot off toward the sky.

* * *

"How could Lolidragon do that to me? It was so…undignified!" Wu Qing cried as he flailed his legs and arms, somehow managing not to spill a drop of his foaming beer. Marksman had sunk back into the couch, while Miwa was complaining loudly and waving his beer. Playboy had gone red by now and was quietly hiccup-sobbing into his drink.

I laid my head down on the low table and closed my eyes in exhaustion. Ever since those three had met it was like a constant kindergarten when something didn't go their way.

"Guys, come on." Wicked's voice sounded sternly from above. We all looked up at him, some angry and some in a daze. He nodded, pleased that he had our attention.

"We are joining Infinite City."

* * *

"Black Lily, can you come over here and bless us? We want to level up." one of Infinite City's citizens called out - there were new ones every day and I hadn't caught on to all their names yet. I looked up from mixing potions and dusted off my hands on my robe before coming over.

"Sure."

I had just finished blessing them when I heard a loud wailing from somewhere not far behind me.

"PRIIINCE! WHEN WILL YOU COME BAAACK?" Gui cried as he frantically paced or rather ran the courtyard up and down. I felt myself grow apprehensive with a strange sense of foreboding anytime I was around him. It was uncomfortable and confusing. So I tried to avoid him whenever I could.

"Calm down, will you? He said he'll be back as soon as he can." Wicked snapped at the whiny bard, unable to hide a note of satisfaction in his voice. I knew it was because he knew Prince in the real world and communicated with him. As always, I tried to suppress the now familiar clawing sensation in my stomach - to no avail.

It really was getting annoying; just because I felt overprotective of my big brother figure was no reason to get upset like this.

I didn't notice that I had ground a crucial ingredient for a potion into almost nothing until a calming hand laid itself over mine and unwound it.

"Are you alright?" Wicked asked, his eyes filled with worry. Even though I liked his natural dark brown eyes better, the green suited him well.

Suddenly my annoyance bordering on anger disappeared, leaving a fluttering feeling behind. I stared up at him, heat spreading into my face and where he was touching me. I forgot everything around me, noises became silent and there was only him. The way he moved or his habitual gestures, his sweet and caring personality showing in his eye filled my thoughts…

I blinked and then blushed. What was thinking? He was my brother in every sense but one!

"Black Lily? You're not sick, are you?" his voice broke through my frantic mental protest.

"No." I murmured, not wanting to look up and have that happen again. He didn't move and I gently slipped my hand from underneath his. It still felt hot. "I'm okay, really. You should probably get back to what you're supposed to be doing before Yu Lian catches you."

He laughed and withdrew his hand to ruffle his hair. I forced myself not to think about how enticingly soft those silvery-white strands looked and instead put a new ingredient on my chopping block.

"Yes, I should. I'll see you later, okay?"

I nodded and brought myself to smile at him as I began chopping. I stopped as soon as he was out of eyesight and looked at the hand he had touched earlier. It looked normal but it was tingling…not an unpleasant feeling. I was still thinking about what this could mean when someone else stepped beside me.

"How are those potions going, gorgeous?" Playboy greeted me and I rolled my eyes at his use of that nickname and started chopping once again.

"Fine."

"So…what's the deal with you and Wicked?" he asked slyly, juggling three green onion type things. In my shock at the question I nearly cut myself and he chuckled when I shot him a glare.

"Nothing. We're just friends."

Playboy clucked his tongue and smoothed his hair back as a couple of female players passed us by.

"That didn't look like 'nothing' to me."

"What did?" I decided to play dumb. Maybe he would leave it then.

He rolled his eyes at me in a very obvious manner and almost lost his juggling toys. I laughed as he lunged for one and fell onto the ground. Not offended in the slightest, he continued juggling on the ground.

"Do you really need me to recount? Just now when he was asking if you were okay. You had a complete deer-in-the-headlights-look and you didn't even notice when Gui was dragged away by Yu Lian, kicking and screaming." he added at my shocked expression. If he had been able to see me like that what about Wicked? I didn't want him to know before I did. But what was there to know?

"Are you serious? You're that oblivious?" Playboy asked, his eyes wide.

"Did I just say that out loud?" I frowned when he nodded, grinning. "Well, answer me then."

Playboy shook his head, the grin still on his face.

"Nu-uh. You're gonna have to figure that out yourself." he told me, getting up and dusting his pants. He held up a finger when I opened my mouth in protest and gave me another sly smile. "I'll tell you if you…give me a kiss."

I gave him an appalled look before snatching up my ingredients and potion making equipment before stalking off. Playboy didn't come after me although he did send me a PM.

"**I'll give you one clue - what you feel for Wicked is more than friendship."**

* * *

Well, it seems Feng Lan isn't the only one clueless about her feelings lol.

Please review! :)


	4. Ugly Greeneyed Monsters

Disclaimer: You know the drill

The curtain rises on chapter 4! ^^

* * *

"More than friendship? Of course it's more than that! He's like a brother to me!" I told myself sternly as I nervously fiddled with the latch of my bag.

"Miss, is everything in order?" the chauffeur, Huan Gen as I knew his name was now, asked as he threw me a concerned look through the rear view window. I looked up in embarrassment and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Yes, everything is alright."

He nodded and went back to concentrating on the road while I continued looking out the window. I watched the trees, cars and clouds go by without really seeing anything. I wondered how Ling Bin would react to me being at the same university as him and had to grin. That made me drift back to Playboy's cheery but firm statement '_What you feel for Wicked is more than friendship_'. I knew that already though; we were practically family to each other. But why did the label 'brother' still fit Ming Bin but suddenly sounded all wrong for Ling Bin?

"Miss, we have arrived." Mr Huan announced from the front and I smiled at him gratefully as I made a move to get out of the car.

"Please, Mr Huan. I would love if I could come on friendship terms with my father's staff. You do not have to do this for me." I protested as the older man opened the door for me and held out a hand. He only smiled at me before reaching for my bag but I pulled it back. "Please."

Mr Huan halted and then nodded slowly as he stepped aside so I could get out.

"Thank you." I nodded at him with a smile and he looked at me thoughtfully.

"You are very much like your father, Miss."

I looked at him with wide eyes that he seemed oblivious to.

"I will wait here for you after you have finished for the day." Mr Huan told me with another smile before driving off. I stared after the car until it was out of sight and then turned to the office for directions to my classes. X University's campus was ridiculously big.

Even during my first lecture - economics - I was already aware of how much different learning with others was than at home. There my tutors were always focused on me to the point of being annoying. Here we were all simply expected to take notes or not, leaving the choice completely to us. Even though it was overwhelming I quickly adjusted to it and about halfway through the day I decided that I really liked this kind of freedom.

It was then, just after mathematics my least favourite subject, that I walked past an almost empty classroom where I saw a familiar figure cleaning up some equipment. I grinned and leant against the wall outside to wait for him to come out. I heard his footsteps come toward the door and he closed it behind him, all the while looking in the direction opposite me.

"Hello, Ling Bin."

Ling Bin nearly jumped and whirled around with wide eyes. His jaw dropped slightly as he took in my appearance. I shuffled a little self-consciously. I was wearing a simple, plum coloured blouse and a pair of dark wash jeans with plain black flats; nothing really out of the ordinary.

"An Yu? What are you doing here?" he finally asked, tucking his hands into his pants pockets. I shrugged, suppressing my unreasonable disappointment.

"Grandfather wants me to learn social skills, so he sent me to live with my father and finish my degree here." I explained and he nodded as he started down the corridor.

"Since when are you here?"

"Well, today is my first day at the university but I've been in T City for a month." I told him as I caught up to his long strides. He sighed in exasperation and threw an arm around my shoulder. My heart suddenly sped up and I lowered my head to let my long black waves obscure my blush.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I faltered at the slight accusation in his tone and peeked up at him. He had a small groove in between his furrowed eyebrows, signalling annoyance. Suddenly I felt an overwhelming desire to reach up and smooth it out. I shook my head violently to get rid of that mental image and smiled up at him hesitantly.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

The groove disappeared and he rolled his eyes before squeezing my shoulder in an one armed hug.

"Well, you definitely succeeded." Ling Bin told me laughing and I joined in soon after. By now we had arrived in a huge courtyard full of people and he began steering me toward a group consisting of four people who were waving at him from underneath a cypress tree.

"Who are they?" I asked, feeling a little nervous all of the sudden. I usually wasn't very nervous but getting to know new people was making me realise that I was shy.

"I think you might know one or two of them." Ling Bin said mysteriously. I had no time to answer because then we were already standing right in front of them.

"Hello." I greeted them with a small wave and an even smaller smile. I scanned them and to my surprise did recognise one. Although in reality his hair was black and short, not long and brown. "Wu Qing?"

"Black Lily?" he asked, equally stunned. We both looked at the girl beside him who had also called out and now slapped a hand over her mouth in shock. The other two, a girl and a guy copied us.

"Ah, yes. This is Black Lily." Ling Bin hastily said and we all looked back at him. Wu Qing smiled flirtatiously and he took my hand in his.

"Charmed to meet you in reality. My name is Feng Yang Ming." he introduced himself as he stared deep into my eyes.

"I'm An Yu. And you can stop doing that; it never worked before and now that I've had weeks of that it's working even less." I told him and grinned when the others started laughing. Yang Ming gave me a feigned look of hurt and I continued slyly. "Besides, I thought there was a certain thief that you have an interest in?"

His eyes glazed over and Ling Bin clapped him on the shoulder with a chuckle before standing next to me. Usually he would have his arm around my shoulder again but this time he held both by his side.

"So yeah, this An Yu. Ming Bin and I became friends with her when I moved away." he explained, facing the others again. The girl who had chorused my In Game name the same time as Yang Ming nodded enthusiastically and smiled at me as she held out her hand.

"It's great that Zhuo-gege made friends when he was gone." she told me with earnest dark brown eyes as I shook her hand. I stiffened as I heard her nickname for Ling Bin but forced myself to relax. I was being unreasonable and selfish, I told myself. I probably could have called him by a nickname as well if I wanted to.

"I'm Feng Lan." she continued and I forced myself to smile at her even though it hurt my facial muscles. Feng Lan who Ling Bin had always talked about until it was obvious he liked her. Did he still feel that way? His fixation on Prince said otherwise. "That idiot's sister."

She pointed at Yang Ming who was still staring at the sky dreamily and I laughed. She joined in as well before introducing the other two to me; the girl was called Lu Jing and the guy Yun Fei. They both smiled and waved at me which I returned, feeling more relaxed now. All of them seemed really nice, even Feng Lan who I had initially felt a strange dislike for.

We all sat down on a patch of grass underneath the tree and began talking only to soon find out that we all played _Second Life_. It became an animated conversation where everyone said something but I noted that Feng Lan only ever said anything when she was asked, her answers were hasty and short. I found myself watching her carefully and noticed that she seemed strangely familiar. First I thought it was because she looked like a female version of Yang Ming but somehow there seemed to be more behind it.

Then the bell went and Ling Bin jumped up only to reach down and help Feng Lan get up. She shook her head at his outstretched hand and he balled it into a fist before hiding it in his pants pocket. I stood up myself, looking at him in surprise. Ling Bin's eyes looked a little hurt but immediately brightened when we heard someone laugh. I slowly turned my head to see it was Feng Lan who was waving at us before walking away with her friends and brother. Glancing back at Ling Bin I saw that his happy gaze was still trained on the girl's retreated back - and the clawing feeling was back in full force.

"I'll see you during break." I said abruptly and walked off as he gave a single distracted nod. Suddenly I felt indescribably mad at him without any reason. I told myself that it was because Ling Bin was being stupid - he should decide whether he liked Prince or Feng Lan. It wasn't fair to either of them.

Unfortunately I had been so distracted by my thoughts that I had gotten lost. I wandered down an empty corridor, the only noises being the ones of professors teaching in the adjoining halls. I looked around a little desperately, hoping for some kind of sign telling me where I was. I couldn't find one though and I eventually knocked on a door that looked like it might lead into a study.

It swung open and I froze as I looked into the eyes that met mine. They were the same sapphire as father's - as mine. I was aware that this eye colour was very rare and except for my own family I had never seen it anywhere else.

I admit, I remembered where I had heard the name 'Gui' before and rather than asking grandfather I asked father. He had clammed up nearly instantly at that name and it was only because of my good hearing that I had heard him mumble something about "hiding the baby photos". Thankfully he had been too busy to clean those up; I had discovered the albums and found many of them full of photos - of a baby boy with black hair and eyes the same colour as mine. I still hadn't figured out the connection between us but I knew enough to put a name and that eye colour together. That could only mean one thing.

"Min Gui Wen?"

"Yes? Can I help you with something?" he asked, his eyes roaming over me and taking in the binders I was carrying. I stared at him, willing him to recognise me ( I was secretly hoping for more information) but his face remained blank. Until -

"You're Black Lily, aren't you?" he suddenly exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face. I felt a weight plummet into my stomach but smiled anyway. It really was no wonder; why would he know anything? And since even father refused to tell me...maybe it was better this way.

"Yes. I just started here but I didn't know you were here as well…as a professor?" I guessed, glancing into the study behind him.

"Yes. Are you in my class?"

"No. Actually I got lost and I wanted to ask for help to get to my next class." I admitted a little sheepishly, fingering the edge of my binder. He nodded and smiled in sympathy before closing the door behind him and stepping beside me.

"Yeah, I got lost a lot too when I started here. What do you have next?"

"Business Law." I answered hesitatingly but relaxed when he just continued smiling.

"I know where that's taught. Just follow me, I'll lead you there. I don't have another class for a couple of hours."

We had crossed about half the campus when he seemed to remember something.

"Say, how did you know my real life name?"

My eyes widened and I smacked myself mentally for the blunder. How could I have been so stupid? No way I could say 'Your name sounded familiar and your eyes are weird'. I frantically tried to come up with a believable explanation until it occurred to me.

"Wicked and I have been friends for a really long time in real life and when I came here today he introduced me to some friends of his. They told me that Gui from Odd Squad was their professor and that his name was Min Gui Wen." I said evenly, hoping he wouldn't detect my guilt. Deceiving people made me feel even worse than hurting people In Game. Of course not all of it was a lie; Jing and Fei really had told me about their professor and even his real name. It was just that I had already known it before.

He seemed to believe me though and I let out a sigh of relief as he pointed me to a door down the corridor on the left.

"Thank you, professor." I said, finding it strange to address him by his title while picturing those baby photos. He waved at me dismissively and smiled.

"No problem."

* * *

"Attack!" Nan Gong Zui shouted, charging ahead his part of the army. I glanced out the window for a moment before continuing making mana and health potions as fast as I could.

I really hoped that they would be able to hold off the invasion until Prince came back; it had already been an entire month since he had been here. Apparently Prince had been looking for people to become Infinite City's citizens when he somehow got lost - by buying a one-way ticket to the Eastern continent _accidentally_. Without any money to buy another ticket back, the only way for anyone to communicate with him was for Wicked to be the messenger. But even he didn't know when Prince would be back.

I flinched as an shower of arrows violently bounced off the wall just beside the window and tried to calm myself down. It didn't work very well; the trembling in my hands made it almost impossible to measure the right amount of ingredients. I looked around the room at the other priests who were making potions, some of them terrified while others were the epitome of efficient calm.

Taking a deep breath I resumed with my potions. I had just put a stop on one of the many potion bottles when we all received a message through the Infinite channel.

"**All move to the Central Tower!"**

I nearly jumped at Nan Gong Zui's mental cry but quickly gathered all potions that I could carry along with all the other priests in the room. We all rushed up to the Central Tower and got there just in time before Fan's invading force arrived.

Some kind of argument was starting between him, Nan Gong Zui, Swan Beauty and Ice Phoenix when something dropped out of the sky - right onto Fan.

All of us - and not just Infinite City but Fan's army as well - stared as our City Lord mumbled something incoherent before starting an argument with Fan on his own. Then everything went very fast; Prince began shooting orders at everyone and then called to someone above us.

I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a flying carpet! And there were people on there! Everyone else seemed unfazed though and soon all of the new arrivals were involved in battle as well.

Prince stepped toward the edge of the tower and looked down on the battlefield as if to jump right in the middle of it. Then Wicked came to stood beside him, saying something, but it was too loud and I was too far away to hear anything.

Still, the closeness between the two made the clawing resurface - and I felt mad on poor Feng Lan's behalf. She didn't seem to have noticed or felt the same about Ling Bin's advances but why couldn't he just stick to one person? I had always respected Ling Bin and seen him as a friend so of course Wicked was the same…but now I was just sad and angry.

Then battle resumed once again, leaving me no time to think about this anymore. I stayed in the back of the battle along with other priests, offering spells and potions when they were needed. There was a lot of blood and injuries and I winced in sympathy every time someone came over. The sight made me feel ill but somehow I was almost able to feel the pain and I wanted to be useful so I stayed.

Sooner than I thought, the battle was finally over and I was able to log out. The next time I played, I wasn't very surprised that rebuilding Infinite City was now the top priority; even though we had won the city had also taken a lot of damage. This process took several weeks and things slowly went back to normal - Gui running after Prince in his usual exuberant manner, Wicked chasing those two to separate them and all of Prince's other hardcore fans behind them - the prominent ones being White Rose, Fair Sky and the newest, Ice Phoenix.

I tried my hardest to ignore it and get on with the tasks Yu Lian had assigned me but I never lasted long - I ended up logging out after just a couple of hours because I couldn't stand the way Wicked acted toward Prince. I always ended up being mad at them and feeling sorry for Feng Lan, but when we were at university it was the other way around. Still, I found myself observing Feng Lan and was soon able to make the connection between why she looked familiar and where I knew her from. I should have felt immense relief - I mean, now I knew that Ling Bin was simply interested in one person and that was Feng Lan. But what filled me instead got me very worried - something that I finally recognised as raging jealousy.

Of Ling Bin's feelings for Feng Lan.

* * *

Oh wow, she's made progress XD

Hope you enjoyed reading and please review! ^^


	5. Revelations and Epiphanies

Disclaimer: I still don't own 1/2 Prince T.T I drew him on deviantart though! ^^

And here's chapter 5 :)

* * *

"You will be meeting with your fiancée tonight." father informed me over the breakfast table and I had to remind myself to keep chewing. As always - recently anyway - my thoughts had been occupied with one of my best friends and his feelings which left me in a bad mood, but this definitely did a good job at distracting me.

Of course I remembered that I had a fiancée - it's quite a traumatising experience for any fourteen year old to be told that they are engaged to someone - but I had never met him. The only information grandfather had given me was that he was the second son of one of his business partners and that once we married he was going to be the official heir of our family business since he didn't trust me with it.

"An Yu?" father called worriedly and I tore my shocked gaze from my omelette.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"_Are you alright?" _it echoed in my mind as another voice said it, a warmth enveloping my right hand as I remembered…

I shook my head and smiled at father before he called the doctor. He had been very attentive and protective of me since I came here which I had found unsettling at first but by now really learned to appreciate. Not for the first time I wondered why he had left us to be raised by grandfather who was usually distant and cold.

"Yes, I am."

"Good." father nodded in satisfaction and took another sip from his coffee before setting the cup once again and fixating me as I silently continued eating. "I want you to know that I would never force you to do something you don't want -"

"Father." I interrupted, glad that this was something I could do here without any negative consequences. "I know that this engagement isn't your fault. As the current family head, grandfather has the power to decide for us - and I know he is only thinking of our family's survival. I accepted this a long time ago."

Father looked a little more relieved at my explanation but the worry lines in his forehead still didn't smooth out. I gave him a convincing smile despite my emotions going amok inside my mind and patted his hand reassuringly. He returned the smile weakly and then got up with a sigh. He hesitated for a moment before spontaneously bending down and giving me a kiss on the forehead.

"I'll see you tonight. Your fiancée is coming over for dinner." father reminded me and I managed a stunned nod before he left. I lightly touched my hand to my forehead and then smiled softly to myself. It had taken a while for both of us to be comfortable around each other but he had started giving me somewhat awkward hugs after a couple of weeks. They had grown more natural with each passing day but today was the first time he had given me such a strong sign of affection.

Smiling broadly, I finished my breakfast under several house staffs' watchful gaze and then left after waving at them happily. I laughed and became even more euphoric after they smiled and waved back at me as I skipped out the door.

My good mood held on until my first break after two lectures.

I once again joined Ling Bin, Feng Lan, Yang Ming, Jing and Fei underneath the cypress tree who abruptly halted their discussion when they saw me coming. I frowned at them lightly when they all exchanged anxious glances and suddenly seemed immensely interested in the grass below their feet.

"So, how was your lecture?" Ling Bin broke the awkward silence once I sat down. I shrugged and bit into my apple.

"It's maths. I don't think I need to say anything more." I answered after swallowing and took another bite. I glanced at everyone in the circle when the silence fell once again. This was strange; usually they would be talking about _Second Life _by now. Maybe I should start it this time.

"So I heard that Prince is supposed to go sing to earn money?" I asked, rather interested in the answer. I was rather enthusiastic about music but had never been allowed to learn any musical instruments; grandfather found them to be a waste of time and money.

"Let's not talk about Prince; he's so outdated. Let's talk about this hottie here!" Jing exclaimed, shoving a celebrity magazine in my face. I blinked in surprise before peeking past it at her.

"But you love talking about Prince."

"That was when he was new!" she insisted, sounding rather desperate as she once again attempted to make me look at some guy's poster. When I glanced around I saw that the rest of them looked rather flustered too and the penny dropped. Waving the magazine aside, I took another calm bite and swallowed.

"You were talking about Prince. So, are you going to do as Yu Lian said?" I asked, looking at Feng Lan. She blinked at me in surprise and opened her mouth to protest but I beat her to it. "Don't even deny it. You are Prince."

"No, she isn't. You know Second Life doesn't allow gender changes." Yang Ming butted in so convincingly that I might have believed him if he hadn't grinned and winked at his sister. I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"I know that but that doesn't change the fact that she is. I don't know how she did it but I have proof." I finished my apple and tossed it into a nearby garbage bin before counting my reasons on my fingers. "One - she behaves almost the same in reality as she does In Game. Two - Prince looks exactly like Wu Qing except with different colouring and elven features. And Three - " I took another breath and forced myself to remain calm as the five of them all looked at me with wide eyes. "Ling Bin likes Feng Lan and follows her around all the time - Wicked does the same to Prince. And I'm pretty sure that I know Ling Bin well enough to know that he wouldn't two-time anyone."

Feng Lan, Yang Ming, Jing and Fei all blinked at me, speechless and I smiled.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"How do you know I like Feng Lan? I never told you." Ling Bin argued, getting up to look down at me. I scowled, hating it when he did that. It was like he was purposely trying to make me give up.

"It was pretty obvious from the way you talked about her all the time." I answered, trying to sound casual but somehow some of the jealousy I was feeling seeped into my voice and I glanced over at the girl in question. She was staring at Ling Bin, a guilty expression clouding her eyes while the remaining three looked on triumphantly. My rage softened a little at the sadness in her gaze. She genuinely seemed to treasure Ling Bin as a friend and was afraid to lose that - but she also didn't seem to see him that way, if the occasional glances she snuck at Gui In Game were anything to judge by.

Ling Bin still stared down at me but could obviously feel Feng Lan's stare.

"Then I'll never stop talking about her that way."

My eyes snapped back to him but he wasn't looking at me any longer; his eyes were filled with burning determination as he stared right back at Feng Lan. He continued, his voice full of passion, "And I'll never give up."

That told me several things - he knew that she seemed to like Gui even though she herself was clueless. This also told me that he didn't have a simple crush on this girl - although the eight years full of non-stop talking should have tipped me off - he was infatuated with her. Maybe it was even as strong as an unrequited love.

And I? Well, I was about to become a cliché.

Because that was the moment I realised that I was in love with my best friend.

* * *

"Miss? Would you like me to help you with that?" my personal maid, Mei, asked concernedly. Startled, I looked up from my lap and into the vanity mirror in front of me from where her worried face was reflected from behind me. I shook my head and smiled at her reassuringly.

"I'm sorry to have worried you. I'm fine." I answered her, continuing to brush my hair evenly until it fell over one shoulder in long silky waves. Mei smiled at me and inclined her head as I put the brush away and stood up.

"Your fiancée has arrived."

I nodded and threw one last look into the mirror. I had only remembered that he was coming over when Mei had been sent up to help me get ready. I was wearing a tealm sleeveless wrap dress. The colour offset my fair complexion and the blue of my eyes nicely and I only wore a thin silver chain around my neck. My hair was only brushed to hang over my shoulder on one side which revealed one tiny silver stud in my exposed earlobe. I had kept my makeup to a minimum - only a little eyeliner since I didn't need mascara but nothing else.

"Alright, I'm ready."

Mei nodded and lead the way into the dining room. I could dimly hear two deep voices talk. I immediately recognised the older voice to be my father's and felt an immense relief that the other was young; for all I knew, my fiancée could have been the same age as him.

I halted in front of the door and Mei went ahead to announce my arrival. I tried to listen intently as the two of them hastily said their goodbyes - my father wouldn't be joining us for dinner even though the staff would watch over us. But somehow something about the voice sounded familiar. It couldn't be possible that I knew this person, could it?

"He is a very nice young man, An Yu. For once I agree with my father that he might be a good choice." father told me with a broad smile, before giving me another kiss on the forehead and leaving for his business dinner. I took a deep breath and smiled as I entered the dining room. If father approved of my fiancée he couldn't be that bad.

I stopped in my tracks as I caught sight of him waiting in front of the table. With his silver blond, stylishly messy hair, luminous forest green eyes and tall but lanky, toned frame he was definitely good looking - but that wasn't what shocked me.

In Game I had never seen his eyes before but the rest of him looked exactly the same except for the casual faded jeans and long-sleeved, black button down shirt he was wearing. And now I also knew why his voice had sounded familiar.

"_You're_ An Yu?" he asked, his expression as stunned as I was. I nodded weakly and quickly sat down in one of the chairs before I collapsed. He joined me on the seat opposite me.

"Who would have thought that we would ever meet like this, Marksman?"

I slapped my hand over my mouth in shock as I realised what I just said. Thankfully all of the staff only looked confused instead of suspicious. I doubted that father would mind if I he found out that I played _Second Life_, but the head of house staff were required to send in regular reports about me to grandfather who would.

Marksman looked at me in confusion but quickly shifted to understanding. Grinning, he extended a hand toward me.

"I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Fu Deshi. Call me Deshi." he introduced himself formally and I smiled as I shook his hand.

"Well, obviously father already told you my name." I said awkwardly and he laughed. I listened, fascinated. In Game he almost never talked and he didn't laugh much either. I had only seen him for less than five minutes in reality and he was showing me a completely different side. Realising that maybe being in this arranged marriage wasn't so bad after all, I smiled as dinner was served to us.

We hit it off surprisingly well and talked a lot too - although we had to be careful to avoid anything _Second Life _related. During the course of the evening, I found out several things about him - he was 25 years old, had graduated with a business degree three years ago and since then been working in his father's company. As the second son his workload wasn't as much as his elder brother's but it was still a lot. That was supposed to prepare him for when he would take over grandfather's company. Deshi's brother was three years older than him and married with one son, while his younger sister was 22 and beginning a graduate course in the science department.

Dinner flew by fast and before we knew it, Deshi had to leave.

"Sorry about that. I really would like to stay but I have work tomorrow." he apologised as I walked him to the door.

"That's alright. I'm just glad that we finally know who we are." I laughed lightly and he joined in as well, his eyes sparkling.

"Me too."

We fell silent and stood there a little awkwardly until he suddenly smiled.

"We should meet again."

"Yeah, definitely." I agreed.

"In real life." Deshi added quietly and I nodded. "Like a date."

I looked up at him with wide eyes and he began to look a little uncomfortable, his grin becoming embarrassed. I blushed and looked downward, feeling flustered. Of course he meant a date. What else would an engaged couple do?

A sudden image of Ling Bin flashed across my mind and I swallowed before resolutely shoving it aside. He was not going to ruin the great evening I just had. Besides, I had the whole day to ponder over my newly discovered feelings for him only to keep coming to one conclusion - he didn't feel the same about me.

And then there was the fact that I was engaged. This I could do nothing about unless grandfather changed his mind, something I knew he wouldn't do. Stubbornness was one of his most prominent traits after all.

So all in all, it didn't matter what I felt about anyone. I had to accept my feelings - and forget about them. I was lucky enough to already know and be close to becoming good friends with my fiancée. I couldn't ask for more.

I closed my eyes for a moment before smiling up at Deshi who was still searching my face nervously for an answer. I really was surprised at that. Someone with his looks should have had his fair share of relationships.

"I'd love to go on a date with you."

* * *

That evening when I logged in a heard some sort of scuffling go on in the conference hall. I walked towards it, curious as to what it was about this time. It couldn't possibly have anything to with Lolidragon's stealing habits, could it?

When I entered I saw all of Odd Squad as well as Ice Phoenix, Fair Sky and Wicked - all three arguing rather loudly with Lolidragon and Yu Lian.

I stepped beside Ugly Wolf, confused.

"What's going on?"

"Prince decided to do the singing but he wants a band. They're all trying to get in." he explained in a low voice and I nodded absentmindedly. Of course they would - they were all obsessed with him after all. I ignored the sudden dull ache in my chest as I glanced at Wicked and instead focused on Gui who was smiling at the arguing bunch smugly.

"What's Gui so happy about?"

"He's the only one so far who is in the band."

That would explain it. I, along with everyone else, looked on curiously as eventually all three were admitted into the band. Then Lolidragon pulled out a list with assigned duties to every band member and I found myself sighing inwardly. If the rest of the band were anything like Wicked - Ling bin had never danced a day in his life and he was responsible for the choreography - the band couldn't possibly earn as much money as Yu Lian wanted.

"The tour will go on for one month." Lolidragon concluded her little speech and I stiffened. I had actually been planning to avoid Ling Bin anyway which would be easy enough at university but now that I was faced with the possibility of not seeing Wicked In Game either….

Before I knew what I was doing I strode up to Lolidragon and planted myself in front of her with both hands in my side.

"I want to join the band as well."

Stupefied, everyone blinked at me.

"But you never learned an instrument." Wicked pointed out.

"And you never had official dance lessons." I shot back.

"We don't need another band member!" Fair Sky screeched, glaring at me. Gui and Ice Phoenix mimicked her expression which made me laugh. They obviously thought that I was after Prince. They looked even more enraged at that and were about to launch themselves at me when Yu Lian held up her hand.

"What is there that you can do? Can you help make the costumes? Or dance?" she asked, her gaze intently fixed on my face and I was suddenly reminded of grandfather. Swallowing the sudden onflight of fear at that thought, I frantically brainstormed what I really could do for them. Then it occurred to me and I smiled.

"Well, if Infinite Band is going to have fan girls as bad as Prince's" Yu Lian shot the elf a glare who cowered in fear. It was only last week that a rabid horde of fan girl's had somehow managed to sneak into the castle and rampage any surface of the castle they could; and even killed a number of players in the process. The repairs were still being done right at this moment. "I think a priest who can bless and heal band members might come in handy. True, at the moment the band has two warriors, a mage, a thief and a bard but even the strongest teams need a priest. Isn't that right, Ugly Wolf?"

We all glanced at him and he looked a little flustered at all the attention being directed at him Yu Lian nodded and gestured at me.

"Go on."

"Plus," I stalled, trying to think of any more used I could have" I'm currently studying for a business degree. I would be able to manage the band when you aren't with them. And I could make any potions we might need myself. We wouldn't have to pay anything for them."

The moment I said that Yu Lian's eyes lit up and I knew I had won the argument. She smiled and held out her hand which I took.

"Welcome to Infinite Band."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed reading, chapter 6 is up next :)

Please review ^^


	6. Acceptance

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything.

3...2...1...start chapter 6!

* * *

"You know, that really was fun! I've never been to a theme park before." I told Deshi as we slowly walked through the park. He stopped walking and stared at me with wide eyes. I didn't notice until I was a few steps in front of him and turned around.

"What's wrong?" I asked concernedly and came toward him. He suddenly looked a little red and I laid a hand on his forehead with a frown. "You're not sick are you?"

"No, I'm fine." he assured me, taking my hand in his and thumbing my knuckles gently. I looked down at our joined hands and smiled at him. It was getting pretty cold since it was late autumn now but his hands were really warm. Just half a year ago I would have shied away from any body contact, but living with father for the last months had really made me used to it. Of course it also helped that this was Deshi's and mine fifth date or so; we had hugged from that first meeting/date onward so I wasn't fazed by body contact. Not that I was counting.

Deshi opened his mouth slightly and then closed it again before hesitatingly asking me a question.

"You've never been to a theme park before?"

"No. Grandfather was always very concerned with my education." I explained and we continued walking silently.

"You didn't get out much as a kid, huh?" he suddenly said and I shook my head. He smiled and gently squeezed my hand. "Well, now we have our dates. Say, are you cold? Because your hands are freezing."

"Maybe a little." I admitted and he quickly dragged me along to a café right in the middle of the park.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he asked worriedly as he pushed the door open and sat us down in a corner. I shrugged guiltily and slipped out of my coat with his help.

"Thanks." I said gratefully smiling and he flashed his own smile right back at me.

"It's what a gentleman does, right?"

He continued looking at me and I nodded hesitantly.

"I guess."

He laughed lightly and picked up a menu lying between us just when I reached for it. But instead of taking the card, Deshi laid his hand atop mine and I looked up at him in surprise. His eyes were filled with warmth and something else. Something I didn't recognise but seemed to go right into my soul.

I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

I tore my gaze away from his and slipped my hand out from underneath his even though I immediately regretted it; it was still cold. Deshi's hand stayed still and then finally picked up the card.

We stayed silent until a pretty waitress about my age came to our table.

"What can I get you?" she asked, her undertone flirtatious as she directed the question at Deshi. He became a little flustered at her intent gaze and quickly gave her his order before handing her the card. I had to suppress a giggle at his horrified expression when her eyes flashed dangerously at his reaction. She snapped her head to me, the expression on her face obviously communicating that she was sizing me up.

"And you?" she asked in an almost rude tone.

"A classic green tea, please. Thank you." I answered pleasantly, my mouth corners twitching as her eyes narrowed and she stalked off toward the kitchen. I grinned at Deshi who stared at me a little stunned before grinning back.

"Is that the usual reaction you get from women?" I asked teasingly and he turned a light shade of pink and nodded in embarrassment.

"I try to ignore it though."

I laughed and he looked a little offended but then couldn't help but join in. Soon we began talking about everything and nothing, the uncharacteristic silence from before gone. Our teas came and we sipped them as we continued chatting without noticing the time. At some point we looked out the window and noticed that it was already getting dark. We hastily paid - meaning I tried while Deshi wouldn't hear of it. In the end I won the argument but I saw him exchanging my share for his own bills. I rolled my eyes at him but laughed as he simply pressed my money back into my palm.

The ride home - thank goodness Deshi had his own car since conversations with staff around were pretty awkward - we continued talking as if this afternoon had done nothing to the supply of words we could use per day. At some point I did wonder why he seemed so talk active in reality while he only ever said single words In Game. When I voiced this question, Deshi looked a little thoughtful.

"I usually don't talk much in reality either. I guess I just didn't find the right person to talk to." he answered, not taking his eyes off the road but I knew that his words were directed at me. I smiled and reached over to press his hand in understanding but then halted since he needed both hands to steer the car. He glanced over at me and smiled softly before adjusting his grip and taking my hand in his own.

"Don't you need both to drive?" I asked a little panicky when we rode over a bump in the road. He laughed quietly and shook hid head.

"It's okay; I've done this before."

"Oh? You mean you held a woman's hand while driving at night?" I asked, trying to sound offended. He glanced at me in alarm but before he could protest, I chuckled.

"Don't worry I was just teasing you." Deshi sighed in relief and I continued in a serious tone. "Even if it's true, I don't blame you. We might have been engaged for six years but we never even saw each other during that time. So it's only natural if you did have other relationships."

Deshi pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine before taking my hand in both of his and looking at me earnestly.

"Maybe it is. But trust me; from now on, you're the only one. We're engaged." he reminded me and I nodded.

"True." I conceded. He smiled and then held up a hand as if he had forgotten something. "What's wrong?"

"Just a minute." Deshi reached past me to the little storage space where he usually kept his CDs. I watched curiously as he opened it and quickly retrieved something before closing it again. He'd been so fast that I couldn't tell what it had been.

Deshi took a deep breath as he prepared himself to say something and then looked straight into my eyes.

"I know that technically we're engaged already, but I thought you might like proof." he explained with a slightly uneven voice as he presented a small, square, black velvet box to me. I stared at it with wide eyes and then up at him.

"What is it?"

Deshi suddenly grinned and then chuckled as he pressed it into my palm.

"Open it and you'll see."

I did and felt my eyes grow wide at the sight.

Amidst more smooth black material, right in the centre of the box, was a matte silver ring with a single, tiny sapphire stone on top. I marvelled at its plain design; that just made it even more alluring. I then looked up at Deshi who's happy smile fell as he saw my guilty expression.

"I can't possibly accept this. It must have cost a fortune."

"Money really isn't an issue." he protested as I tried to give it back to him. He sighed in defeat as he finally accepted after some struggling and then a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.

"Your left hand, please." Deshi said pleasantly and I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion as I laid my hand in his outstretched one. He grinned as he extracted the ring from the box and placed it on my ring finger. I snatched my hand away in a show of offence but he only laughed and soon I was too. I inspected it sitting on my finger and then smiled at him softly.

"Thank you. It's beautiful."

"I wanted it to match your eyes." he told me, his eyes fixed on mine intently and again I saw that odd emotion in his eyes I didn't know. I quickly glanced downward but felt the tip of a finger tilting my face upward again. My eyes were wide open as I watched Deshi's face slowly come closer and closer until I could count each one of his eyelashes.

Maybe I was just slow but it only hit me now that he was going to kiss me. I didn't struggle at the sudden realisation though; I wasn't sure I should or if I even wanted to.

So I let it happen.

* * *

All of us were sitting in a room especially reserved for band purposes and were discussing the city's reaction to the first performance which had happened just now.

"The response was surprisingly good." Lolidragon mused aloud, her face drawn into an uncharacteristic frown. Prince looked dejected and both Wicked and Gui growled in unison at the sight.

"The audience was hypnotised!" Wicked argued, even standing up to make his point. I felt the now familiar ache pounding in my chest at the sight and once again reminded myself that I had no right - I was engaged and he didn't feel that way about me.

Lolidragon didn't look moved at all though.

"Hmmm… I guess it was alright. But I think the song 'Fly With Your Dreams' was better." she grumbled and Prince jumped up at that remark.

"How is that possible? I practised this song for so long!" he cried and Lolidragon snorted in exasperation.

"But you didn't put enough feelings into it." she told him matter-of-factly and then suddenly thrust a finger in his face. "Prince! You obviously haven't tasted love before! Particularly the bitterness of unrequited love!"

Prince was about to retort angrily when a soft voice interrupted the near argument. We all turned to look at Gui, stunned, who was singing the song in question, word for word. The emotions Lolidragon had mentioned were audible in every note and, even though Gui's voice was ordinary, that was what made it sound captivating. We all listened in rapture until Prince snapped himself back to the present.

"Gui, teach me how to sing it properly." he said in an unusually gentle tone. I felt Wicked tense up beside me and glanced over to see him clenching his jaw, jealousy clearly visible. This then again sparked my own but I quickly tore my gaze away from him only to see Prince and Gui disappear out the hall together.

"Meeting dismissed!" Lolidragon declared and dragged Ice Phoenix and Fair Sky away to make their next costumes. That left Wicked and I alone in a room and I suddenly found it hard to breathe. Another glance at him told me that he was still staring at the spot where we had last seen Prince and Gui.

Since having recognised my feelings, the only thing on my mind had been how miserable I was at not having them reciprocated. But then Deshi had appeared and that made me question this; it made me feel disgusted with myself for being so selfish. There was no reason for Wicked or Ling Bin to be remain with his one-sided love even if mine would be. I had resigned myself to my future and had even convinced myself that I was content with it. But what I really wanted was for him to be happy, even if that didn't bring me happiness.

I looked downward into my lap before making a decision which I had been pondering for days.

"You should fight for her, you know."

Wicked whipped around to face me with wide eyes as if he only now realised that I was still here. I gave him a soft smile and he returned it sadly, sinking into the empty seat beside me. He subconsciously put his arm around the back of my chair but I noticed anyway. Ignoring my suddenly irregular heartbeats, I leaned away a little which he noticed. He raised his eyebrows at me slightly before removing his arm.

"What's wrong with you?" Wicked asked, frowning lightly and raised his hand as if to check my temperature. I stood up out of his reach and his frown deepened. Even if I had been sick I doubted that it would transfer from my real body into my avatar.

"Nothing." I lied smoothly, a sting of guilt piercing me as I noticed how easy that had been. I lied way too much lately - to him, even to Deshi partly. It wasn't like I had ever actually told him that I liked him the way he liked me but I had let him kiss me.

But most of all I lied to myself.

"Come on, just tell the truth already. Why have you been avoiding me lately?" Wicked got right to the point, getting up as well.

"I haven't." I denied, maybe a little forcefully if his scoff was anything to go by. I hastily continued talking; this wasn't what I had been planning to say. " Like I said, you should fight for Feng Lan. If you don't, you'll lose her to Gui."

"I know that! Don't you think I'm trying?" Wicked exclaimed, the previous topic immediately forgotten. I sighed, half in relief and half in disappointment. I squashed the second emotion; I had made a decision after all.

"Then try harder! You're barely doing anything at all." I argued and his eyes narrowed in anger but I ploughed on ahead. "Think about it, what's Gui doing that you're not? He's expressing his love, a little excessively, but he gets his point across. You need to do the same - show her your love."

"And how do you propose I do that? I already told her straight to her face that I love her." he said sarcastically. The sharp edge of his comment hurt but I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms to distract myself.

"Well, that's obviously not enough. You only told her once, didn't you? Gui says it every day. I'm not saying you should yell it at her daily." I added at his mouth opened in protest, "I'm saying you should tell her in little things. Like walk her to class or give her a flower or something for no reason. One little thing each day. Eventually she'll really get that you love her and there will be a chance that she might develop feelings for you."

"A chance? That's not exactly confidence inspiring." Wicked remarked but he actually looked thoughtful. Once again I felt myself being torn in two directions but forced myself to smile and give him a hearty slap on the shoulder.

"It's the best you've got."

Wicked smiled and reached for my hand but I took it away before he could reach it. Slight anger flared up in his eyes but was gone so quickly I wasn't even sure that it had been there.

"Thanks. You're really a good friend." he told me earnestly, his gaze so intent that I couldn't move. My heartbeat pounded in my ears and a fluttering feeling settled itself in my stomach as he reached for me. Unable to pull away this time, Wicked hugged me and after stiffening for a moment I wound my arms around him.

I relaxed even though I knew I should have pushed him off. But I didn't; I just felt so safe and protected. It felt right, somehow.

Then he loosened his grip and I moved away a little regretfully.

"I'll see you in uni, okay?" Wicked said and waved a little before exiting the room as well. I sank back into my chair as all my energy left me. I let my head sink onto my arms on the table while I cursed myself for my stupidity. One touch, one _hug_, and all my lies and carefully constructed mask disappeared. That was what I got for one moment of inattentiveness.

I groaned and moved my head, then halted as a faint rustling sound came from underneath my arms. I removed them and to my surprise saw several sheets full of musical notes and lyrics. Apparently I had been so caught up in my own problems that I hadn't noticed those when I leaned on the table.

Picking them up, I thumbed through them and eventually came across the song that Gui and Prince were supposed to be practising. They must have forgotten it here. I got up, reading and murmuring the words as I read through them. The melody snuck into my head and before I knew it I was singing it.

"Your smile, your tears, your every move…is a sacred text to me." I sang, recalling what Lolidragon had associated the song with. Unbidden tears sprang to my eyes as I held on to the mental image of Ling Bin, one who laughed, one who cried. "My joy, my sorrow, my entire life…I'll forsake everything I am, to live only for you…"

Maybe I was being a little melodramatic but that seemed to be a pretty good description for what I was feeling at the moment. I continued singing, oblivious to a couple of still figures standing in the open doorway of the room until they spoke.

"You didn't say that you could sing like that." Lolidragon exclaimed excitedly, clapping in enthusiasm. I stared at her with wide eyes, aware that I was slowly turning red.

"That's because I can't. I've never sung a day in my life." I protested but she came toward me anyway. She walked around me with a scrutinising expression and then snapped her fingers.

"Alright, I've got your measurements. Now I only need to design one more costume."

Ignoring my protests, she dashed away and the second figure stepped into the room.

"It's Zhuo-gege, isn't it?" Prince asked, his blood red eyes full of sadness and maybe even pity. I wanted to retort in anger; I didn't like being pitied. But the sound of his voice was so sincere and empathetic that I felt it all dissipate. I nodded mutely and looked up at him tiredly. I suddenly felt incredibly exhausted.

"Yes." I admitted and shot him a warning glance when he opened his mouth to speak. "How do you know, anyway? You didn't notice his feelings for you until recently. What happened?"

Prince lowered his head and absentmindedly twisted on hand in his jacket before looking up again.

"Let's just say…that some people pointed out the obvious to me." he finally said, his eyes staring into nothing. "I don't know what to do."

I wanted to slap him for causing so much pain to Wicked but suppressed the urge. That really wouldn't help anything; the worst it would do was that Wicked would be angry at me and I didn't want that. So I stood up and forced myself to smile at him.

"Then hopefully my help will lead you to the right decision."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed reading, chapter 7 will the last pre-written chapter.

Please review and tell me what you think so far ^^


	7. Big Brother Complex

Disclaimer: same as before

So this is the last pre-written chapter, now you'll have to wait for updates :(

* * *

I furrowed my eyebrows in concentration as I quickly finished a paragraph for my business essay, then halted as I tried to think of another topic sentence. I glanced over at my lecturing notes to see which points I still needed to expand on, staring at it as if an idea would just pop into my head on its own. This went on for a few minutes until a sudden ringing noise from my bedside table sounded.

I jumped at the annoying beeping and then held my hand over my rapidly beating heart.

"Stupid mobiles." I mumbled, snatching the cursed thing off the table and pressed a button before holding it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, An Yu, it's me."

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat at the sound of Ling Bin's voice.

"Hi. Did something happen?"

"Does something need to happen for me to call my best friend?" he asked sounding offended, but his happy undertone still audible. I couldn't help but smile as I pictured him with a grin on the other end of the line. "But, yeah, as a matter of fact, something did happen."

My smile broadened as his happiness became more obvious.

"Really? Tell me."

"Well, I sort of went on a date tonight."

"A date?" I echoed, my good mood disappearing. I bit the inside of my cheek, reminding myself yet again that this was my goal - Ling Bin's happiness. "How did it go?"

"Well," Ling Bin hesitated and I could imagine him deflating. "Maybe it wasn't exactly a date."

He went on to describe how he had gone to the night market with Feng Lan and how she had asked him about his feelings for her. He had gone on to describe them as best as he could but received no answer from her. When he had brought her home she had just said goodbye to him like always - a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. Jealousy reared its ugly head again at that point but I did my best to sound cheerful.

"That's not bad. I mean, right now she sees you as a friend, right?" Ling Bin made a noncommittal noise and I continued. "So if she didn't behave any differently after your confession, that means that you're important enough to her to want to keep you by her side, even if she doesn't feel that way about you yet."

He didn't say anything and I was just thinking that maybe he had hung up without me noticing, he answered.

"You really think so?"

I choked back my tears at his hopeful tone but a few still spilled.

"I know so." I firmly reassured him, clutching the phone until my knuckles stood out white. There was a slight pause and then a sigh.

"Thank you." Ling Bin said, his voice full of relief. "You're the best friend anyone could wish for. Your advice actually worked."

"Don't sound so doubting." I sniffed and he laughed.

"I won't from now on." he promised. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye." I whispered and he hung up. I stared at the phone in my hand before violently punching in a number. There was no way I could concentrate on lecture work right now, not after that.

"Hello?" Deshi's voice sounded and I was glad that I had called his mobile. If I had called him at work, he would have taken forever to answer.

"Hey, it's me. Are you busy?"

"An Yu? No. In fact, I just finished work and am on my way home now. Is there a reason you called?"

"I don't feel so good." I whispered, my tears freely flowing now.

"You're not getting sick, are you? Do you need me to call a doctor?" Deshi sounded anxious and I couldn't help but smile. He was always so reliable. I shook my head before I remembered that he couldn't see me.

"No, no. Anyways, I could just call the house doctor." I paused and heard him give a sigh full of relief before continuing. "I just - I needed a friend to talk to."

Deshi was silent for a moment before saying anything.

"If it's a friend you need right now, I'm here for you. Did you want me to come over?"

I glanced out the window where it was already dark and then my alarm clock which showed the time to be 18: 23. Dinner would be served soon but father was out of town for a business meeting and I didn't feel like eating alone.

"If it's not a bother."

Deshi chuckled and I smiled again at the sound.

"Not at all. I'll be there in twenty minutes okay?"

"Thanks." I said in a heartfelt tone and I could hear the smile in his voice as he answered.

"Anytime."

* * *

The next morning, Deshi insisted on driving me to my lectures. He had stayed the night - in the guest bedroom - because we had once again ended up talking until it was too late for him to drive home. He had actually wanted to leave but I insisted he stay the night because I thought it was too late and, truthfully, I didn't want to be alone again. Somehow, his presence distracted me from Ling Bin and that was what I needed at the moment. I did feel bad about using him like that but when I blurted out my guilt - saying that I had a lot of problems right now and needed a break - Deshi had simply hugged me and told me that was what he was here for.

That had reduced my guilt until he said he had to leave and I convinced him to stay. Simply knowing that he was in the same house as me calmed me down. So I was happy for him to drive me to university although I did worry about his own work.

I was just voicing my concerns once again when he reached over and squeezed my hand in reassurance.

"Don't worry; I'm not scheduled for any meetings until ten, so I have plenty of time to get to work."

"Fine. " I conceded but then added with a light threatening undertone, "But if I ever cause any trouble for you at work, you have to tell me."

"Sure, wife." he laughed and I went a little red at the nickname. He tended to call me that whenever I sounded stern to get me distracted. Like always, it worked. "Say, where's the ring I gave you? You're not wearing it."

I looked over at him in surprise at his unusually serious tone. He quickly glanced at me, his eyes slightly hurt.

"You don't like it?"

"No, no. I do." I rushed to reassure him and then reached around my neck where the silver chain from our first meeting hung. I pulled it out from underneath my collar and held it up for him to see - I had hung the ring on it after he gave it to me. "I wear it every day."

Deshi pulled into the student parking lot, drawing a lot of stares at his ridiculously expensive car. He wasn't one to flaunt what he had but his father had insisted on a good car - and the sleek, silver Aston Martin Vanquish was the cheapest he would allow his son to drive.

Deshi turned to me with a mock sad expression on his face.

"Dear, you wear engagement rings on you left ring finger, not around your neck." he tutted, patting my hand consolingly. I rolled my eyes at his display but gave an embarrassed laugh as I fingered the ring.

"I know that. It's just so…strange. Not a lot of people my age are engaged."

"You're not embarrassed of our engagement, are you?" Deshi pressed, his gaze intently focused on me. I lowered my head and shook it. He lifted my face with one hand and smiled softly. "So, what's the problem?"

"I don't know." I told him hesitantly, not wanting to admit that announcing it would make me feel like I was separated from my friends here. From Ling Bin. Mentally smacking myself, I smiled at Deshi. "It's nothing."

He grinned back at me and reached for the clasp of my necklace when I twisted my hair out of the way. Undoing it, he slid the ring from the chain and onto my left ring finger before closing it again. I blushed lightly when he took my hand and kissed it right on the ring before smiling up at me again.

"There."

Deshi let go and came around the car to open the door for me - it was another of his gentleman mannerisms and I had given up a while ago to make him stop. According to him, he liked to 'spoil' me.

Then he helped me out of the car and even offered to walk me to my class. I accepted but only after he assured me once again that he wasn't late for work. We started walking with my binders in one arm and my bag Deshi insisted on carrying on his shoulder. His free hand twined into mine hanging between us; I didn't mind since it was cold and he was warm.

Inevitably, since the bell hadn't officially gone yet, we walked across the courtyard from where my friends waved from their customary spot. I changed course and dragged Deshi behind me who gave me a puzzled look.

"Who are they?"

"I think you'll recognise them." I answered mischievously and laughed as his expression only became more confused. Then I was there and Ling Bin narrowed his eyes at Deshi while Jing looked like she was in dreamland - her obsession with 'bishies' had called. Feng Lan, Yang Ming and Fei only stared at him in surprise when I stopped in front of them. I opened my mouth to do introductions but Deshi spoke first.

"Wicked, is that you?" he asked in disbelief and then looked at the others. "Wu Qing?"

"…Marksman?" Yang Ming said, equally bewildered before getting up with a wide grin. He fist bumped Deshi's shoulder before continuing. "Who would have thought? Do you go to university here too?"

"No, he doesn't." I hastily answered for him when Ling Bin's expression didn't change. Deshi gave me a surprised look but didn't comment.

"No. I was just driving An Yu here." he said smoothly which caused everyone else's eyebrows to shoot upward. "I'm Fu Deshi, by the way."

"Yang Ming. So why exactly did you drive An Yu here? I thought you heard Wicked's warning." he joked and glanced over at Ling Bin's unchanged expression.

"We're - "

" - friends! We're friends." I interrupted Deshi and this time he looked a little annoyed.

"Friends?" Ling Bin repeated slowly, eyeing our still clasped hands. I suddenly felt uncomfortable at his scrutiny and attempted to slip my hand out of Deshi's but his grip tightened the tiniest bit. Ling Bin looked back up right at me. "You didn't tell me that you knew him in real life."

I swallowed at his accusatory tone and shrugged helplessly. Deshi smiled at him politely and held out his hand. After another glance at me, Ling Bin shook it.

"Pleased to meet you."

"You too. I'm Ling Bin." he said, his tone now civil with a barely perceptible edge to it. I frowned at him and then shot Yang Ming and Feng Lan a questioning look; what was wrong with him? Their simultaneous shrugs didn't answer my question unfortunately. Then the two of them finally let go of each others hands even though they didn't leave the other out of their eyesight.

"So, 'friends', huh? Doesn't look like that to me." Yang Ming butted into the silence, suggestively wriggling his eyebrows at Deshi's and mine interlinked hands. Deshi gave a quick smile at that and before I could stop him, raised my hand - the one with the ring - to his lips.

"We are friends. It's just that we also happen to be engaged." he said pleasantly. I winced as Jing squealed in delight while the other four dropped their jaws and widened their eyes in shock and surprise. The twins were the first to recover - Feng Lan shot me a very confused look while Yang Ming once again clapped Deshi on his shoulder in congratulations.

"That's great! Why didn't you tell us?" he demanded and both of us couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"It never really seemed like the right time. You know, with all the stuff going on In Game." I explained. Ling Bin clenched his jaw at that and I felt a shiver go down my spine. If he did that it usually meant that he was furious.

"You never told me that you had a fiancée who was such a hottie!" Jing exclaimed, coming over to us. Deshi blushed lightly at having that term applied to him but, oblivious to this, she continued. "How long have you been engaged for?"

"Six years." Deshi answered willingly and I suppressed a laugh at that. Anything to distract from his embarrassment.

"An Yu, can I talk to you for a moment? In private?" Ling Bin asked, suspiciously calm. I gulped at the glint in his eye and nodded. He sent Deshi a cheery smile and took me by the arm. "Don't worry, I'll return her to you soon."

With that, he dragged me away to a corner in the courtyard which left the rest of my friends to ambush Deshi with questions. Ling Bin let go of me and faced me once we stopped walking, fixing me with a furious stare.

"You've been engaged for _six years _and you didn't tell me? To _him_?"

"I had my reasons." I crossed my arms in front of my chest to hide the fact that my hands were trembling. I looked up at him defiantly and wished I hadn't when he leaned into me, placing his hands on the wall behind me on either side of my head.

"Really, 'reasons'? Is there a reason big enough to not tell me, your _supposed _best friend, that you're _engaged_? Because that seems like something pretty big to me."

I didn't say anything; I was having a difficult enough time to breathe properly at his close proximity without thinking about what to answer. The crazy fluttering in my stomach didn't help the situation.

"Well?" Ling Bin prompted and I started at the fury in his voice. Feeling a sudden anger of my own well up, I looked straight in his eyes. They widened the slightest bit at the rage in mine; not really a surprise. Usually I didn't have a quick temper.

"That's none of your business." I snapped, ducking underneath the cage of his arms. They immediately pinned my back to him, refusing to budge when I struggled.

"Why won't you tell me?"

I stopped at the sound of his voice; all anger was gone and replaced with deep sadness and disappointment. "I thought we were best friends."

"We still are." I said softly and I felt his arms loosen a little so I could step out. I turned back to face him and my heart felt heavy at his sad stare. I reached out and tucked a short strand of dirty blond hair behind his ear. He stayed immobile at the gesture which I took as a good sign to continue. "It's because of our friendship I didn't tell you."

Ling Bin's dark brown eyes were suddenly burning with intensity and he grabbed my hand before I could pull it away.

"What do you mean?"

I glanced over at my friends to see that they were staring at us. Deshi started toward us at my eye contact and I attempted to wrestle my hand from Ling Bin.

"I'll let go when you tell me what you meant by that." he insisted and I stopped struggling to narrow my eyes at him in annoyance and exasperation.

"Fine. You really want to know?" I asked sarcastically and he didn't even blink at me as he waited for me to finish. "Because I didn't want to burden you."

Ling Bin finally let go of my hand as promised but looked at me in shock.

"Burden me? Why would it burden me?"

I looked down and bit my lip, not wanting to say it.

"An Yu?"

I flinched at the simmering anger in his voice and looked back up at him.

"I was told when I was fourteen. More specifically, the day you received the news of your mother's death. Did you really think I would worry you with my problem that seemed petty in comparison to yours?"

Ling Bin's mouth twitched at the mention of his mother but the groove between his eyebrows deepened.

"And you couldn't have told me some time after?"

"It slipped my mind." I admitted and he laughed humourlessly.

"It slipped your mind? How can you forget something like that?"

"I didn't forget; I just had it in the back of my mind! It wasn't important enough, I had no one to connect the word 'fiancée' to!" I protested and he was about to retort when I felt a calming hand on my shoulder.

"Is everything alright?" Deshi asked, looking at me in concern before shooting Ling Bin a questioning glance. I smiled up at him and pulled him away toward the others, throwing a fleeting glance at the fuming Ling Bin behind me.

"Everything's fine."

My friends watched me in concern as I arrived back at our spot and Feng Lan bent toward me.

"Is everything alright?" she whispered in my ear and I smiled at her at the sound of her question, the same as Deshi's.

"Yes."

She smiled back at me automatically but her eyes showed that she knew it wasn't. I really wanted to dislike her, not only because of her ability to see through people even though she was completely oblivious toward other things, but I simply couldn't. Feng Lan was just too nice a person.

We all jumped when the shrill bell rang right above our heads and Yang Ming rubbed his ear as he glared up at it.

"Guess we'd better go." Ling Bin said from behind us. I turned to see that his face was carefully composed and even wore a pleasant smile. Not looking at me, he reached for Deshi's hand who took it warily.

"Congratulations. You're really lucky to have her." he said and Deshi smiled in relief at his words. Then Ling Bin leant in closer to whisper into his ear loud enough for all of us to hear. "She's like a sister to me, so if you hurt her…"

Letting the barely veiled threat trail off, he pulled back with a bright smile aimed at me. "Let's get to class, then."

Deshi gave him a tight smile and then tilted my face toward him as he placed a kiss on my lips. I was used to it by now since he always gave me kisses me but this one was different; it was longer and more thorough.

I felt my face heat up as I sensed the others staring at us and pulled away. I looked to the ground, my face a flaming red. It wasn't like I didn't like his kisses; I did. I felt in control of myself - something I lost anytime I was around Ling Bin - and it felt rather nice. But I was still embarrassed by public displays of affection.

Deshi gave another indecipherable look to Ling Bin before smiling at me.

"Have a nice day, alright?"

I nodded and he left, leaving me with my friends.

"Goodness, I really wish that had been me." Jing sighed, fanning herself dramatically. Fei cleared his throat, looking almost as embarrassed as I felt and looked at her, Feng Lan and Yang Ming.

"Let's go, we'll be late."

The three of them nodded, speechless, and they all left, leaving me with Ling Bin. I risked a peek at him and saw that his face was completely still with no emotion on it whatsoever. I cleared my throat and he looked at me, still with no emotion.

"I have to go now, too. See you in break?"

I was afraid he wouldn't respond but then he gave a curt nod and I flashed him a relieved smile. "Okay."

I didn't look back at him as I left but I could feel his eyes following me. This unsettled me a little but I put to the back of my mind as simple over protectiveness.

* * *

I hope you enjoy my story so far :)

Please tell me what you think! ^^


	8. Changing Tides

**AN:** I can't tell you how sorry I am for not updating sooner. All I can say is that is was partially because of my complete lack of inspiration, shitty time management and plain old laziness. BUT I recently read a fanfiction by **ExileWrath** called **The Prince's Rebirth** which somehow got the ideas popping up inside my head again, so hopefully I'll be able to update soon since I do have some kind of plan written out about the rest of the story.

Meanwhile, I hope you can forgive me for this extremely delayed chapter and that this one isn't all that confusing. If you see any mistakes or need clarification let me know.

Now I've rambled on for long enough, so here is chapter 8. Enjoy :)

**Disclaimer:** see chapter 1.

* * *

The next morning I was running late though strictly speaking it wasn't my fault.

After yesterday's announcement of Deshi's and my engagement, Ling Bin had behaved rather cool towards me. If I had hoped he would be different In Game I was sadly mistaken; instead Wicked had seemed even more determined than usual for us to train and had set up a gruelling regimen which had left all of us stressed out and exhausted. It also hadn't helped at all that he seemed to snap at us more than usual while nearly ignoring Marksman and myself completely. Of course I was completely distracted by this fact and spent the whole time worrying about what I could have possibly done for him to react this way. As a consequence of this I had nearly missed the ringing of my alarm clock.

I managed to get up in time though to get to class - but unfortunately I had completely forgotten about one of the regularly scheduled check ups our house doctor made. Hence, I was impatient to get it over and done with so I could get to class.

"Well then, we're done for today." doctor Bai announced, releasing me of the blood pressure measuring device. I flexed my arm, sighing inwardly at the broad bruise forming around my left upper arm. That was why I hated these things; the pain wasn't so bad, my arm just went numb, but since I easily bruised, I was always left walking around with a ring of discoloured skin for a few days after.

I stood, ready to say my goodbyes and leave, but the doctor was having none of it.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked sternly, a glass of water and a huge white pill in his hands. This time I did sigh. Taking the pill and washing it down my throat with practised ease, I grimaced. No matter how long I had been taking it for, it still tasted poisonous. Smiling with sympathy, Bai took the now empty glass from me. "Remember, take it easy. You know how your medicine affects you."

I shook my head at the reminder and slung my bag over my shoulder.

"Thanks, but I think I'll go to uni nonetheless. I'm not feeling too bad." I waved off his concern an reached for the doorknob, but his voice stopped me.

"Is that so? You must be finally improving…" his murmured comment was so quiet I nearly didn't catch it as I left but somehow it unsettled me. I hadn't been aware that I had anything health wise that needed improving.

Glancing at the watch on my wrist all thoughts about my health flew out the window when I saw the time. I ran for the front door, hoping that the chauffeur was available to drive me. As I sprinted past the open dining room and saw father reading his newspaper calmly, I grinned.

"Good morning, father. I'll take the chauffeur, alright? See you later!" I called out with a smile and a wave as response. Once seated in the car, I pondered over how different life had become since I had moved two months ago.

"Not bad." I mused out loud, reclining back into the cushioned leather car seats. I yawned involuntarily as a sudden, but not unfamiliar sleepiness overtook me. "Not bad at all."

* * *

I shot upward at the sudden, throbbing pain in my left upper arm and sleepily glared at the person responsible. Unfortunately my glare didn't have quite the effect that I had been looking for; Ling Bin was standing against the sun, making me look up at him while blinking non-stop.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." I could tell from his tone that he was grinning, a stark contrast to his rather bad mood yesterday after Deshi's and mine announcement. "Break's over."

I yawned in response, trying to ignore the fluttering in my stomach at the absence of yesterday's cool attitude.

"But I just found the perfect place for a nap." I said reproachfully as I took his offered hand to get up. Today really was an unusually pleasant day; with already being in the middle of autumn, days warm enough to sleep outside were rare. "Trees such as this one with the perfect amount of shade are made for naps."

Ling Bin only rolled his eyes good-naturedly while I stretched. I flinched when I got to stretching my left arm and automatically held it where the bruise was, grimacing.

"What's that?" he immediately asked, catching my movement. I leaned away from him slightly which only served to make him frown and catch my arm, rolling up the sleeve as he did so. His eyes grew wide as saucers as he spotted the huge, bluish-green mottled patch of skin. "Who did this to you?"

The controlled fury in his voice startled me so much I couldn't answer right away but it seemed I didn't have to.

"XZhuo-Gege, are you coming?" Feng Lan called from a few meters away. She grinned at me as she mock-imitated me sleeping and I suddenly felt embarrassed. I never slept in public. Those drugs were making me act like a completely different person, I thought irritated.

"You go ahead, I'll see you in Second Life." Ling Bin answered her somewhat shortly. Judging by her the look on her face, as well as Yang Ming's, Fai's and Jing's I wasn't the only one surprised at his curt tone. Usually he would never turn down at the offer to spend time with Feng Lan.

Apparently not noticing the trading of glances going on behind him as the group made their way to their classes, Ling Bin fixed me with a piercing stare.

"Who did this to you?" he repeated, his tone dangerously low. His dark eyes widened as a sudden realisation occurred to him and his mouth twisted in disgust. "It wasn't Deshi, was it? I swear, if it was -"

"No, it wasn't." I hurriedly cut him off, my annoyance at his conclusion shining through. "I had a doctor's appointment this morning."

"A doctor's - you expect me to believe that?!" he raised his voice and I quickly covered his mouth with my hand. Looking around anxiously, I noticed with relief that no one looked our way.

"Yes, a doctor's appointment. He was measuring my blood pressure." I insisted. The mistrust was still visible in his eyes and I suddenly noticed how close we were, standing nearly chest to chest with my hand covering his mouth. Before my train of thought could go any further, I glanced at the ring on my middle finger and snatched my hand away, looking down and blushing. I was sure I had imagined the momentary flash of disappointment in Ling Bin's eyes as I did so.

"Are you alright?" he asked out of the blue, his tone soft and gentle. A little startled by the rapid up and down of his moods, I looked back up again, only to see nothing but concern in his eyes. Eyes so dark brown they were nearly black, occasionally broken up by tiny specks of gold…

"What?" I asked belatedly after noticing the pause becoming longer and longer. I saw his concern become something else at my admittedly breathless response, something filled with intensity which immediately made me feel like something was different. Ling Bin had never looked at me like that before. I saw this kind of emotion in Deshi when we were alone sometimes but I had never been able to identify it.

But now Ling Bin was looking at me like that and something between us was changing.

"An Yu." he breathed, sending a shiver up my spine at his tone and his close proximity. My breathing sped up when he slowly leaned in towards me and I could hear my heart pound frantically in my ears. I was completely frozen in shock and disbelief as his soft lips brushed mine, unable to comprehend what was happening. The pounding became deafening; I couldn't think straight anymore and nausea began to creep up.

Then Ling Bin seemed to spiral out of sight and I could barely see him open his mouth wide in alarm before darkness engulfed me.

* * *

As I came to, I heard quiet whispers around me. I recognised Ling Bin as he argued with another strangely familiar voice. Opening my eyes, I closed them right away. My frantic heartbeat had gone but the nausea was worse than ever. Even that small movement had nearly made me throw up. I must have made a noise though, since I heard steps approaching which I assumed was a bed I lay on.

"Student? Are you awake?"

Startled by the deep voice I ignored the nausea in favour of my curiosity. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Wolf-dage?" I asked in disbelief, the only thing recognisable about him the voice and broad build. He smiled and laughed lightly.

"Yes it is, Black Lily. My name is Lee Tian Lang. Ling Bin brought you in here after you fainted. How are you feeling?"

"I…ah!"

Remembering what had just happened, I wanted to shoot upward in a seated position but bowled over at the bout of dry heaves accompanying the intensifying nausea. A warm hand began rubbing calming circles on my back while another quickly pressed a sanitary bag into my. Nodding weakly in thanks as Mr Lee gave me a glass of water, I rinsed my mouth, trying to keep busy to keep myself from looking at Ling Bin beside me who still had an arm around my shoulder.

"Let's get you home." he said firmly, ignoring my protests. "You're obviously too sick to even be here."

"I would have to agree." Dr Lee said, eying me critically. "While you were unconscious I took your temperature. You are running a fever which seems to be rising and since you are displaying signs of nausea I would be willing to bet you've caught the flu. Quite common around this time of the year too; you are the first of many to come here this season, I'm sure."

"But…but I'm f -" I began, quickly silenced by Ling Bin's firm stare.

"No, you're not. I'm driving you home."

Seeing that I was losing this argument, I shut my mouth and obeyed. I was glad Ling Bin had navigation in his car; I was so tired I kept nodding off and giving him directions to my house were the last thing I could have done. I barely even noticed when we arrived, entering the house and his heartfelt goodbye hug were things I barely even remembered. I did know though that I had told him to go back to his classes since they were important. I had refused to budge on that issue.

I didn't remember going up to bed but I know that I slept surprisingly well, only waking once for a bit of plain rice for dinner. I did wake again around 3 in the morning after which I couldn't fall asleep anymore. Deciding I felt much better, I put on my gaming helmet to play _Second Life_.

* * *

"I think we should get married."

Currently having a bit of a break from our training with Odd Squad, I had taken the time to count my remaining Mana potions. At Marksman's words I looked up in shock. Marksman's eyes were barely visible through the slit of his head cover but their silvery colour shone with happiness. I swallowed and let my hands sink from my bag into my lap. The kiss between Ling Bing and I had taken on a dream-like quality in my head. Since I did have a fever at the time I wasn't even sure if that was really what had happened just over two months ago or not. Regardless, I still felt guilty.

"Now? In Game? I mean, with what's going on - you really think this is a good time?" I asked weakly. Marksman may not have noticed Wicked's strangely distant behaviour towards me but in real life it was a lot more palpable. It also seemed to speak for the theory that the kiss was real, but I had been repeatedly telling myself to stop dreaming. It probably never happened and never would.

The overall-atmosphere was even more tense than usual. Since Prince had been attacked by assassins a few weeks ago everyone had been on edge and looking out for danger, the joy the players in _Second Life _exuded was gone and had been replaced by a sombre and more aggressive mood. This had come to a boiling point just last week when the Overlords of the other continents arrived - the decision ensuing their meeting had seen to that.

It turned out that more and more NPCs were gaining self-awareness and the Dictator of Life was something like their leader. A leader who wanted to overthrow _Second Life_'s players. This issue had become so big that even real people were threatened by it and the company which had invented the game were developing a strategy to stop him.

So naturally, now that the most popular game around the globe was becoming a real threat, people were scared. And once people were afraid enough they would do anything to counter that fear, including lashing out at people. Hence, violent brawls had become a daily occurrence here and I often found myself having to deal with so many injuries I barely had time for any other _Second Life _activities.

But when the Overlords arrived they had forbidden anyone from fighting amongst one another as they planned to each build an army and then band together to defeat the Dictator of Life. Added to that, Lolidragon, as our direct connection to the game's CEO, had announced the only strategy which seemed to have a high rate of success. Her words from a few days ago still rang in my ears as did the deafening shouts of bloodlust and outrage.

"There is a way." the elven thief had begun, her voice unusually serious. That had already gotten everyone's attention. The heated discussion between the Overlords and furious debates of their audience had drawn to a close when Lolidragon had continued, cherry eyes hard with a glint of determination and her mouth a firm line. "It's dangerous and will more than likely end in death for many, but it has the potential to help us defeat the Dictator of Life.".

Shouts of agreement broke loose immediately with a few pitying laughs in between.

"If we die, we return to Rebirth Point!" Nan Gong Zui grinned confidently as his men behind him cheered. But Lolidragon shook her head, the frown lines on her face deepening.

"It's not that simple. If that were the case, the dictator of Life could respawn, just as we would come back to life, minus a level." Unsettled whispers went around at her words and she raised her voice again. "Our programmers have developed something to prevent respawning of all In Game programs, including the Dictator of Life."

"Get on with it then! Install it already!" someone called out and Lolidragon snapped.

" I would if you wouldn't keep interrupting!" she bellowed. The crows quietened once again, anxious whispered conversation still intact. The elven thief took a deep breath and continued. "As I just explained, installing this program would prevent respawning In Game completely. Meaning, once a monster or any other _Second Life _program is slain, it stays dead. However -" here she visibly swallowed, steeling herself for her next words, "we are unable to make this program target-specific. Once in place, it would affect anyone online at the time of installation, player and NPCs alike. When injured fatally, player's avatars and NPCs would simply cease to exist."

There was a stunned silence before loud arguments and opinions burst forth. Many players agreed that this plan was too dangerous. But they were massively outnumbered by those who wanted to fight, those who were willing to even have their _Second Life _persona deleted permanently as long as it meant they could be rid of the Dictator of Life for good.

Unsurprisingly, Prince joined in with the latter though he undoubtedly was also thinking of all the awaiting bloodshed. This had then led into another debate - dominated by Gui and Wicked who for once agreed on something - about why Prince shouldn't have this so-called NPC-virus installed.

The outcome of this lengthy discussion was worse than anyone could have predicted. The Final Battle had been scheduled to commence in about a week's time from then, with anyone brave enough to volunteer for the installation staying online at that point. To my horror, Wicked had decided to stay for the Final Battle. My persuasion skills didn't change his mind though I did think it still had something to do with that cool attitude he had been displaying toward me the last months.

Instead, he just trained harder, taking any opportunity to be close to Odd Squad, or more specifically Prince. There was a sense of desperation about his actions; Gui seemed to mirror them as he stuck to Prince's side more than usual. I tried my best to suppress the unpleasantly familiar sensation of jealousy and somehow it was easier, perhaps because I was so worried about Wicked himself.

At least the buzz of anticipation had cheered up everyone and replaced the feeling of dread and helplessness, but that still didn't distract me from my worry and everyone else's underlying fear of the upcoming battle.

The Final Battle set for tomorrow night.

"I realise why it would seem a little strange, but don't you think that diverting everyone's attention and giving them a little time to have fun and relax would help ease their tension?" Marksman pulled me out of my thoughts. "That's always welcome, especially in wartimes."

I stared at my hands my lap, clenching them unconsciously as I thought of Wicked and war in the same sentence.

"It is a war, isn't it?" I whispered hollowly, barely noticing when Marksman gently pried my fingers apart to hold my hands. Tilting my face upwards, I saw how serious he looked.

"I know we will marry at some point anyway, but I just - well…" he suddenly broke off and looked away, a trace of pink creeping up his neck. I followed the direction of his glance and found myself looking at Wicked who was currently fighting back to back with Prince against a giant tree-demon. The rest were scattered around them, supporting them with their own attacks or hanging back to heal before striking again. I smiled involuntarily as Prince laughed, causing Wicked to grin. The warm, fuzzy feeling must have shown on my face because Marksmen continued speaking, a hint of steel and sadness in his voice. "It's him isn't it? You love him."

Startled out of my reverie, I snapped my eyes back to Marksman.

"What?" I responded in shock. At his unwavering gaze, I shook my head vehemently, as much as to deny his accusation and ban my guilty conscience. "Of course not!"

A pause followed my denial in which his eyes searched mine intently. Disappointment clouded his face momentarily before determination took its place.

"Then I have to tell you that I do love you."

The sudden confession made a strange pressure in my chest appear that made it had to breathe. I could only stare as Marksman slid off the fallen tree trunk we'd been sitting on and fell to his knees in front of me, still holding my hands,. My bewilderment turned into a twinge of dread in the pit of my stomach as I realised what he was about to do. I knew it would happen eventually in real life, but apprehension still filled me.

Silvery eyes were fixed upon my face, a spark I now knew was love in their depths, as he announced his next words.

"This may be just a game, but my feelings for you are real. You may not return them right now, but I promise that I can make you happy. Will you marry me?"

Time seemed to freeze, the mild breeze around us suddenly roared in my ears. Involuntarily glancing at Wicked who was about to deal the Tree-demon the fatal blow together with a grinning Prince, I felt my heart break all over. Looking back down at Marksman who was still waiting patiently for my answer. I swallowed and forced myself to smile while suppressing my tears.

"Yes."


End file.
